Ancho chilis remind me of my 2X ex-lady friend, Laura: Attractively saucy, spicy and sexy but if you bite into the wrong place O! come the fires of hell.
Anchos are the raisin to the Poblanos grape, the prune to its plum, the jerky to its steak. Full of rich flavor and an earthy texture, mashed or milled, roasted or reconstituted, the ancho neé poblano (or pasilla depending on where you’re from) is the perfect accoutrement to most any dish.
“You can’t drink the water here, friend.”
“That’s why I eat the peppers…idiot.”
- Actual quote heard while in a cantina in Ensenada, Mexico during the golden 90s.
Having recently found an online store called Pepper Friends (ペッパーフレンズ) here in Japan which sells Jalapeños and, to my surprise, Poblanos, I’ve been experimenting (the English translation is fun for the entire family): Roasted Garlic & Poblano Hummus, a kind of Oaxacan Mole Verde (with tomatillos from Oregon…), an ancho black bean dip, throw spoonfuls in with some avocados, mix in with eggs for a picante scramble, put in poblanos for roasting chile rellenos, not to mention the zip it could give to many kinds of bread. It’s just a pepper, yet the mind reels.
Post-blending looks like shit but damn if it just ain't the spicy best
- Reconstitute the chiles (unless you have fresh, in which case you will want to roast them till the skins begin to separate) in water for 20 minutes.
- Blend up with red onion, roasted garlic, cilantro, cumin, lime juice, grapeseed oil, powdered chocolate & S&P.
- Get ready to get a bit dirty (a kind of Mexican red clay color gets everywhere), take your shirt off, body paint with some cutees, pop the cap on a few lovely chilly brews, sweat a bit, summer’s coming, ain’t no thing.
Mid-mix, I get an email (I got my email setting on LOUD) from my onetime Japanese cooking cohort, Maria (who wrote this article on Cockle Bread for the HESO Nutrition issue), now in Tejas, who’s always thinking along the same lines:
“I know you would shake your head, but I haven’t been doing so much cooking lately. Sure I prepare meals (making my lunches is one of my favorite events of the day…I walk to a little park near the office and do some crosswords while I enjoy the South Texas heat) daily, but it is not the kind of cooking that I got into in Japan. Damn I miss those days. By the time I get home, all I want is a glass of wine. What better to go with wine, but cheese and some compliments. So, more often than sometimes, I have cheese, sunflower seedy crackers, raisins, roasted red peppers, perhaps some tomato. Sometimes, though I just have the cheese and crackers.
I tend to make lots of salads. For me, a salad is not just a mix of raw vegetables. I feel like anything you throw together that is eaten cold is a salad. I like to make soba noodle salads, rice salads, you get the idea. There’s nothing better than a piece of leftover steak, sliced and mixed with a nice spinach and broccoli salad, toss in some Stilton and you have yourself a glorious little feast. Leftover steak is so good, it absorbs that special bacteria. And we all know blue cheese and steak go well together. I’m writing you this while lying in bed, but I think I’m going to eat that for breakfast (I made steak earlier and had already packed my lunch for tomorrow). So onto the idea for your restaurant: you should offer some roasted brie rounds. I know I know, a bit expensive, but what about a nice slab as an alternative? A sweet or savory version, with the sweet topped with some jam, perhaps some persimmon in season or fig. Add some walnuts, some of those damn good honey chili almonds you made when I was there, some raisin bread. The savory can be served with some roasted garlic pieces (maybe some roasted garlic bread?), some rounds of tomato sprinkled with olive oil, some roasted red peppers. Another thing I like to do, but didn’t suggest it first because I don’t know what the Japanese reaction would be, is dice roasted beets. Mix in cubes of ricotta salata, or feta, some chopped herbs (parsley and mint are very nice), sprinkles of balsamic, fresh lemon juice, and olive oil. Let sit for a few hours (you know the drill, the longer the better). Serve on toasty crostini. Another good crostini idea is a single (but generously sized) anchovy, and some sliced of roasted red pepper. Serve with olives.”
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