Spicy Pork Chops
Morita chiles are red, fully mature Chipotles. This gives them a unique, medium – hot smokey flavor which is popular in many Southwestern dishes. These can be added to sauces (including Mole) to add smokey flavor and maintain the red color of the sauces. These peppers are about 2-4 inches in length, 1 inch in width, and have a deep brick reddish brown color. The word Chipotle translated to smoked chile. Consider the Chipotle a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the hottest). Scoville heat units 7,000-25,000.
Suggested Use:
Use Morita in enchilada sauces, chili, stews, barbecue ribs, and corn bread. Their smoky quality combines well with poultry, meats and fall squash.
SPICY PORK CHOPS
Chuletas de Lomo Picantitas
Ingredients:
6 bone-in pork chops, about 3/4 inches thick
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp hot pimentón de la Vera (if unavailable, use chili powder* or 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper instead)
1 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 Tbs chopped parsley (optional)
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbs butter
*To make chili powder, grind a dried chile in a coffee or spice grinder till a fine powder. A chipotle or ancho chile would be a good option!
In a small bowl, mix the cumin, pimentón, salt, pepper and 1 1/2 Tbs of the olive oil. Using a small brush, rub the pork chops all over with this mixture.
In a grill pan, heat about 1 Tbs of olive oil. Working in batches, add 3 pork chops and cook over high heat for 1 minute. Lower the heat to medium and continue cooking for an extra 2 minutes. Turn the pork chops over and cook for 3 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove the pork chops from the pan and set on a plate. Repeat this process with the remaining pork chops.
Thinly slice the garlic. If using a cast iron grill, add 1/2 Tbs olive oil to the pan, turn the heat off, and grill the garlic for less than 1 minute, watching closely and stirring if necesssary to help the garlic from burning (if using a regular grill pan, lower the heat but don’t turn it off).
In a small sauce pan, melt the butter. Add the lemon juice and lemon zest and cook for about 1 minute, stirring. When ready to serve, pour the sauce over the pork chops and sprinkle with the chopped parsley, if using. Top with the roasted garlic slices.