Spicy Chili with Cornmeal Biscuits
This chile pepper is often mislabeled ‘Pasilla’, which is a different pepper entirely.It is one of the most popular chiles in Mexico and has won the appreciation of many a chef worldwide because of the superior flavor it has over regular bell peppers.
They have a tough outer skin that usually requires roasting and peeling before use. These very large chile peppers are most popular in chiles rellenos recipes, but cooking with these as a substitute for bell peppers in any recipe will enhance the flavor.
Ingredients:
1 cup (5 ounces) yellow cornmeal
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp honey
2 cups (10 ounces) flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 and 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter cut in pieces
For the Chili:
1/2 bottle of beer
1 cup cooked white beans, (made from dried is best, but you can use canned)
1 heaping tsp chili powder
1 heaping tsp ground ancho chili pepper
1 heaping tsp chipotle chili pepper
1 heaping tsp ground cumin
salt to taste
2 Tbsp masa harina
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 jalapeno, seeds and all, minced
1 poblano pepper, seeded and diced
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 lb steak tips, cut in bite sized chunks
1/2 bottle of beer (any kind)
1 14 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes, pureed or diced
1 small can mexican chilies
1 cup beef stock (I keep those little containers of stock around, you can also use water)
Instructions:
Cornmeal Biscuits: Heat oven to 450 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk the cornmeal, buttermilk and honey together in a large bowl and set aside.
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of a processor along with the butter pieces and pulse about 10 times until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
Add the buttermilk mixture and pulse just enough to bring the dough together. Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 10 times until the dough is workable. Add in extra flour if it’s too wet. Pat into a 9 inch round and cut out about 8 biscuits with a 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 inch biscuit cutter.
Bake for 5 minutes, until they just start to rise, and then turn down the heat to 400, and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, until golden. Cool on a rack.
For the chile:
Saute the onion, peppers anfd sweet potato in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until the onion is translucent. Remove from the pan and set aside.
In the same pan, heat a bit more oil over medium high heat and sear the steak tips on all sides. I did this in two batches to get good color. Too much meat in the pan and it just steams instead of sears. Add in the ale and put back the vegetables. Add in the tomatoes, broth, can of chilies and spices. Mix it well and let it simmer on low for about 45 minutes. Add in the beans toward the end of the cooking time. The chili is best if it gets a chance to rest before you eat it, so put it aside to cool, and then refrigerate until ready to eat.
When you are ready to eat, reheat the chili. Make a paste out of the masa harina and a little water, and add to the pot. Stir to combine and heat for another 10 minutes. The chili will thicken slightly.
From theviewfromthegreatisland.blogspot.com