Steamers in Red Chile Pesto Broth

New Mexico Chiles are the dried form of the Red Anaheim Pepper. This chile has a thin flesh with an earthy chile flavor and undertones of wild cherries. This chile ranges from 2 – 4 on a heat scale of 1 to 10. The New Mexico Chile may be referred to as the California Chile or Chile Colorado. New Mexico Chiles are commonly used in Red Mexican or Southwestern sauces and is grown in Mexico. This mildly hot chile. Scoville heat units 8,000 – 12,000.

Suggested Use:
New Mexico Chiles are mildly hot and very popular in Southwest cooking. Great in sauces, salsa, rice dishes, stews and soups. Add directly to the cooking liquid along with other spices. Use in stir fry, or add to chicken or fish marinades.

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Ingredients:

2 cups dry white wine
1-1/2 pounds steamers, scrubbed
Red Chile Pesto, recipe follows
2 tsp. honey
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Red chile pesto:

2 New Mexico chile pods
2 ancho chile pods
1 Tbsp. honey
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp. pine nuts
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

For the red chile pesto:

Place the chiles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let the chiles sit until soft, at least 30 minutes.

Remove the chiles from the liquid, reserving the liquid, and coarsely chop. Place the chiles in the bowl of a food processor along with 1/4 cup of the soaking liquid, honey, cilantro, garlic and pine nuts and process until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the oil until emulsified. Season the pesto with salt and pepper.

For the steamers:

Heat grill to high.

Place a large kettle on the grill and add the wine. Bring to a boil and add the steamers. Cover and steam them until theyare all open. Discard any that do not open. Remove the steamers to a large bowl with a slotted spoon.

Bring the liquid back to a boil and reduce by half. Whisk in the red chile pesto and honey. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the cilantro. Pour the mixture over the steamers and serve immediately.

Recipe by Bobby Flay.