4 chile chili

Chiles: chipotle, guajillo, ancho, pasilla

It’s winter time, comfort food time. And if you’re me and have a cupboard full of chiles, what else is there to do but make chili. So here’s one that’s a bit different than the usual. I can’t eat beans which is what most people put into their ground beef chili. Texas-style chili is often iade with big chunks of beef. I’m taking a middle road by using stewing beef cut up into really small pieces.

If you can’t find dried chipotles, you can always use canned ones. The chiles in this recipe are now fairly widely available either in local latin grocery store or most higher end chain grocery stores. It’s about a 6/10 on the heat scale.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 chile ancho
1 pasilla chile
2 chipotle chiles
1 guajillo chile
4 garlic cloves
1 small onion
2 tomatoes
1 tsp mexican oregano
2 whole cloves
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground coriander seeds
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup beef stock
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pound stewing beef, cubed very small
1 heaping tsp sugar
1-1/2 tsp salt

Stem and seed the dried chiles, splitting them in half so you can flatten them. Heat up a comal or a non-stick frying pan and dry roast the chiles in the pan. Heat them for about 20 seconds on each side, flattening with a spatula, so they get soft. Be very careful not to blacken the skin otherwise your sauce will be bitter.  Place the roasted chiles in a small bowl
of boiling water for 20 minutes so they can rehydrate.

Thickly slice your onion and place it and the garlic cloves with their skin on in the pan or on the comal and dry roast them until they are nicely blackened. The garlic will get all soft and sweet. Remove from the heat and let cool then peel and put into the jar of a blender along with the onion, cut up tomatoes, oregano, spices, beef stock, softened chiles and about 1/2 of a cup of the chile soaking water (do not throw the soaking water away yet!).

Blend it all together for 2-3 minutes to ensure you have a smooth but not very thick paste.

Heat the oil in a medium sized pot and brown the meat.

Turn the pot back up to hot and add a bit more oil, then pour in the chile mixture. You should get a nice sear. Bring to the boil. You’ll need to add up to a cup more of liquid – water, stock, or chile soaking liquid (which will make it spicier) – so there’s sufficient liquid to simmer. Add sugar (to take away any bitterness) and salt. 

Bring to the boil, turn heat down to low, and simmer partially covered for an hour, checking frequently to make sure there’s still enough simmering liquid. Add more if it’s getting too dry, it should be saucy but not soupy.

Serve in bowls with tortillas or rice, some slices of avocado and sour cream. I ended up making some cheesy grits and it was super delish together. The chili is  lovely if made a day ahead so all the flavours have a chance to meld together. It’s easy enough to reheat just before serving.

© 2016 Gail J. Cohen

10 things to tickle your tastebuds: Mediterranean edition

Recently returned from two weeks visiting the European countries along the Mediterranean. Beautiful seafood, everything so fresh. We ate in lots of markets, restaurants, bars, and on the street. Of course, wine and coffee are amazing practically anywhere so I don't touch on those but here are a few food highlights and suggestions in no particular order!

1. Lemon-based foods in southern Italy. The lemons that grow in Sicily, Naples, Sorrento and other areas in the south of Italy are just amazing. Even had a dish of meatballs wrapped in the leaves of lemon trees that was out of this world. But a real standout was a candy store  called Confettie e Agrumetti that we happened on in Sorrento that makes in-house “confetti alla crema lemoncedro,” which is basically a beautiful little sweet that is lemon cream wrapped in lemon candy shell. OMG!

2. Something with squid ink, just because black teeth at the table are sexy! And those who live in seaport actuallly know what to do with squid ink. In Valetta, Malta, there’s a little family run spot that serves a wicked tagliatelle neri agli scampi. It was super seafoody and definitely a unique flavour. In Barcelona, squid ink risotto was much the same but with a lot less chance of getting squid ink all over your shirt when you’re eating it.

3. Cured meats: I am sure for all time there will be a debate over whether prosciutto di Parma ham, or jamon Iberico is better. I’m putting my vote in for the Spanish version. Every time I ate the jamon, it melted in the mouth. In Italy, it was a lot more varied and often quite tough. Spanish salami also won the day for me over its Italian counterparts although to be fair I probably only tried a dozen or so of the hundreds of types of salami available in Italy.

4. Fresh cheese: ricotta, mozarella, buratta. Some are made with cow’s milk and some with the milk from water buffalos. Either way, fresh cheese anywhere in Italy is spectacular. One of the best was a little pat of ricotta that we were given as the amuse bouche before lunch at a Roscioli in Rome. But it doesn’t matter where you get it from if it’s made fresh because it will be simply amazing.

 
5. Calissons in Aix-en-Provence. Marzipan is a beautiful thing and the confectioners of Aix have been making these traditional sweets since the 15th century. The method for making them, like champagne, has been made “official” since 1991. The almond-shaped sweet has a base of almond-and-dried fruit paste topped with a layer of royal icing. A one-bite wonder that is surprisingly not too sweet.

6. Olive oil: Every country along the Mediterranean makes its own olive oil and claims its is the best. Again, I vote for Spanish olive oil over most of the others European nations but it’s worth trying some of the local organic olive oil no matter where you are. They are all different and you never know when you’ll hit on a spectacular one as we did in a small little shop in Arles, France where we found one from the Vallée des Baux de Provence that was made with mature black olives and had a very unique and deep flavour. Oh yeah, also just eat lots of olives.

7. Shrimp/scampi: Particularly in the tapas bars of Barcelona, you can have these gifts of the sea prepared many ways. One tapas bar served  whole fried spicy red shrimp. Now they were a bit finicky because they were deep fried with the head and shell on but the flavour was out of this world. A good tapas place will likely offer up a whole lot of shrimp options. Likely none will disappoint.

8. Ocotopus. The more tentacles the better my friend Michael always says. Often when you order octopus, it ends up being very rubbery but when the experts who live by the sea make it, you won’t be disappointed. Char grilled with just a bit of lemon and garlic sauce is my favourite.

9. Gelato. It’s good almost anywhere in Italy, where there are also a whole lot of artisinal gelaterias that have popped up. In Rome, there was one worth a long, long walk in the rain: Romana, which is quite near the Termini Station but not near to much else! Perhaps the best pistachio gelato I’ve ever had, and I have had a lot. Amorino Gelato in Valetta serves its gelato in the shape of a flower, which is darn cool.

10.  Gyro sandwiches, or as we like to call them, french-fry sandwiches. Beautiful, herby lamb or chicken cooked on the upright spit, sliced off, and made into a pita sandwich with tomatoes, garlicky tzatziki, and, of course, a few french fries. They’re available from street side vendors all over Athens. Follow it up with a bit of luscious baklava from a local bakery. It’s just better because you’re buying it in Greece.

Roast duck tacos

Sometimes you just need a break from chicken and duck is a great alternative. Not to mention, these are an excellent option for using leftover duck that you may have made for Thanksgiving or some other special occasion that had you experimenting with non-turkey options.

If you’re starting from scratch, this dish does take a while but it’s totally worth it. If you are using a frozen duck, which are available in most grocery stores, make sure it is completely defrosted before you start. You can use the first part of the recipe simply to make a delectable, spicy roast duck or you can go all the way and serve up some unusual tacos to a tableful of lucky dinner guests.

I have set up the recipe with the instructions for the roast duck first, followed by the one for the salsa, which stars my personal favourite poblano peppers.

Yield: 4-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 whole duck
2 tsp chipotle powder
1 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper

Sauce:
2 poblanos
2 tomatillos, husked and rinsed
2 serrano peppers
1 large tomato
2 garlic cloves
1/2 onion, thickly sliced
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
Juice of half a lime

Garnish:
Chopped radishes
Chopped cilantro
Sliced or mashed avocado
Chopped tomatoes
Lime wedges

Corn tortillas

Roasting the duck

Preheat the oven to 450F

Clean the duck – ie: remove all the giblets, cut off excess fat etc. and rinse.  Prick the skin in all over and then gently put the duck in a large pot of boiling water for about 10 minutes. This action will give you super crispy skin down the road. Totally worth doing it even though you don’t need to. After 10 minutes, remove the duck from the pot and let cool.

Mix the chipotle powder, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl. Once the duck is cool, rub seasoning mix inside and out.  Place the seasoned bird breast up on a rack in a roasting pan and cook in the oven for 15 minutes. After that, turn the oven down to 350F and cook for another 40 minutes.

At this point, take the duck out of the oven and carefully turn it over so you don’t tear the skin. Also add about a 1/4 cup of water to the fat and drippings that have collected in the bottom of the pan. Return the duck to the oven for another 35 minutes. After that turn the bird one more time and cook for about another 15 minutes. It’s ready when the drumsticks feel loose. Don’t overcook though because it will be dry, rubbery, and stringy. Remove from the oven.

This duck is now spicy and delicious with some awesome crispy skin. Be sure to save the duck fat and juices that have collected in the bottom of the pan.

One duck provides enough meat for 6 to 8 people to have a large meal of off-the-charts duck tacos. So usually for four, I use half the duck and save the other half for other meals. Conversely, you can eat the fresh roasted duck right away because it is hot and delectable and then use the leftovers for tacos.

Once you make the decision on how to proceed with consuming this bird, let the portion for tacos cool then remove the skin and shred the meat into a bowl.

Making the salsa

While the duck is cooking, you can prepare the salsa. Start by roasting the poblano peppers. If you have a bbq or gas stove, char the skin over the flame. In this case, it’s a bit more complicated if you have to use the oven. You can either wait until the duck is cooked or put them under the broiler beforehand for 10-15 minutes, turning so all sides get charred.

Put the hot peppers in a bowl, cover them with a tea towel, and let them sit/steam for 10 minutes or more. The skin should now come off easily when you rub it. Remove as much of the skin as you can then cut out the stem and seed. Rinse them to get all the black stuff off and remove the final few stubborn seeds. Cut them up into a few large pieces and put into a blender jar.

On a comal or in a large non-stick frying pan, dry roast the garlic (leave it whole with the skin on), slices of onion, tomatillos, and tomatoes. All the vegetables should be nicely charred with the tomatoes and tomatillos just starting to ooze some juice. Put all but the garlic into the blender. Let the soft, blackened garlic cool then peel and chuck in the blender. Add the cilantro, salt, and lime juice and blend for about a minute.

In a small saucepan, pour two or three tablespoons of the duck fat/dripping mixture. When hot pour in the salsa mixture. You will get a tremendously satisfying sizzle from this operation!  Turn the heat down and let it slowly bubble away for 10 minutes or so until it turns a deeper shade of green. Check the seasonings.

Now let’s make some tacos

Warm the tortillas in the microwave either in a paper towel or tortilla warmer.

Fill them up with the shredded duck, a couple of spoonfuls of the salsa, and the garnish of your choice.  Serve with lime wedges. Enjoy!

© 2016 Gail J. Cohen