The Wholefoodie

Spice things up with these Mexican chillies

To make 1 jar, you will need:

• 3 dried chipotle chillies

• 3 dried ancho chillies

• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

• ½ teaspoon whole coriander seeds

• ½ teaspoon dried oregano

• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled

• 1 shallot, peeled and chopped

• 2 teaspoons maple syrup

• 2 teaspoons cocoa powder

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• Pinch of ground allspice

• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1

Heat the chipotle and the ancho chillies in a dry frying pan to soften them (you’re not aiming to cook them, just make them more pliable to handle). Once softened, discard the stems and seeds from all three chipotle chillies and from one of the ancho chillies. We’re keeping some seeds for ignition.

2

Put the chipotle and the ancho chillies in a small saucepan and cover them with water. Bring to the boil, remove the saucepan from heat and leave the chillies to soak for 30 minutes.

3

Toast the cumin seeds, the coriander seeds and the dried oregano in a dry frying pan until they samba with your nostrils. Tumble them into a blender with the garlic cloves, the chopped shallot, the maple syrup, the cocoa powder, the ground cinnamon, the ground allspice, the apple cider vinegar or the red wine vinegar or the sherry vinegar, whichever you’re using, and the drained soaked chillies — reserve the chilli soaking liquid. Blitz to a puree, adding enough of the chilli soaking liquid to nail a perfectly smooth consistency. Taste, and add salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4

Transfer the adobo to a spotless lidded glass jar and store it in the fridge, or freeze it in ice cube trays.