May 30, 2003
Welcome to this month's issue of The Heat!, a free monthly e-zine brought to you by Chile-Pepper-Sauces.com , and Chef Jay.
In This Issue:
=Black Bean Chili with Chipotle, Recipe
=El Yucateco, XXXtra Hot Sauce, Product Review
="Habanero: The Pepper Pantry", Suggested Reading
=Chef Jay's New e-Cookbook (free to subscribers), Update
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Recipe
This is one of my favorite summertime chili recipes. Many people think of chili as a cold weather food, but for chileheads, heat is a year round passion. This chili isn't as heavy as some that are loaded with meat, so it is much more suitable to eat in the heat of the summer.Of course, as with any of my recipes, feel free to add more of your favorite peppers. Especially if you are fond of spicing things up with your own dried chile peppers. Grind up some Anchos, New Mexico peppers, or some Chile de Arbol, whatever suits your taste, and consume the heat!
Chipotle Black Bean Chili
Ingredients:
4 cups dried black beans
3 Tbs cumin seed
2 Tbs dried oregano
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
4 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
3 cups crushed tomatoes (2-16 oz cans)
1/2 cup
chipotle puree
10 serrano peppers, finely chopped
Directions:
-Rinse and sort beans, allow to soak overnight in pot, at least 6 hours.
-Add enough water to cover by 2 inches(use the same amount of vegetable broth
if you prefer, but water will do). Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and
allow to simmer for 2 hours.
-Preheat oven to 325 degrees, place cumin seed and oregano in a small
baking pan and roast about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Careful
not to over roast. If it smells burnt, throw it out and start over.(If you don't feel comfortable roasting, you can skip this step and use the chili powder recipe below.)
-Saute onions, peppers, and garlic in a medium heat skillet with olive
oil for 3 minutes. Add cumin, oregano, paprika, cayenne and salt. After
5 minutes add mixture to beans along with tomatoes and chipotle puree.
-Simmer for 30 minutes, or as long as you like.
Serve with cornbread, rice, or in a bowl with your favorite cheese.
Chili Powder
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of cumin powder
2 tablespoons of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of oregano
2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper
Now, if you like to roast your own chiles and grind them into
powder, you can use 4 each of dried ancho chiles and New
Mexico chiles, and 4 dried chiles de arbol. Remove seeds
and stems, roast on a cookie sheet in oven at 300 degrees
for about 5 minutes for the smaller chiles and 10 minutes for
the bigger ones. When toasted and crispy, grind into a
powder and add to the rest of your ingredients.
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Product Review
I discovered a new hot sauce, at least new to me, during a recent trip to a local mexican grocery. It is a small store but carries a wide variety of produce and dried peppers used in Mexican dishes.As I wandered the aisles checking out the different canned pepper products, I came across a little bottle that caught my eye. The bottle read XXXtra Hot Sauce, Salsa Kutbil-ik de Chile Habanero. The brand, El Yucateco. I couldn't resist.
I since learned that this brand is widely distributed across the US, and is extremely popular in Mexico. The main ingredient, obviously Habanero peppers. This is the hottest sauce I've tried that doesn't use pepper extract. So far, I have used it on chips and a few different kinds of meat, and boy does it add some heat!
El Yucateco also carries several hot sauces that have less heat. I plan on going back for more. You can visit their website for the entire product line, better yet, go to your local mexican grocer and buy some. El Yucateco
Suggested Reading
There is a little book of recipes I keep on my bookshelf that packs a BIG punch! Written by a pair of my favorite pepper authors, Dave DeWitt and Nancy Gerlach, "Habanero: The Pepper Pantry". Packed with all sorts of different ways to cook with habaneros. If you love the heat of habaneros, or just anything hot, check this little gem out, you'll love it. Buy the cookbook here.Featured Advertiser
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Update
If you haven't heard yet, my first mini e-cookbook will be released in June. It will be available free to all my subscribers. You will be receiving a special edition of The Heat! in a few weeks containing information on how to get your free copy of Grillin' With Heat!, so stay tuned!Many parts of Chile-Pepper-Sauces.com are changing, so keep checking back to see what is new. Also, please tell me what you think of the site. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.
That's it for this month. Now, go out and eat the heat!
Chef Jay