Warm up this winter with hot and spicy foods
Ever heard of a chilehead? That’s what Jeff Porter calls himself. The owner of Chile Spot in Downingtown grows and sells all kinds of peppers like lemon drop and shishito along with homemade sauces, salsas and jams.
“It’s not about burning your mouth. It’s not about making yourself uncomfortable,” he said. “For me, personally, it’s really just about enjoying bolder flavors in my food.”
Follow his lead and be bold. It’s International Hot and Spicy Food Day.
“I love hot and spicy,” agreed Brenda Kieffer, executive chef at Kieffer’s Appliances in Lansdale.
Try her Bayou Shrimp with Tabasco Butter made with ingredients always “on hand.”
“It’s just enough spice to be tangy,” she said, “but not enough to burn your taste buds and taste nothing but heat.”
Indian food’s another favorite.
“You don’t have to be afraid to make Indian food at home,” explained cookbook author Anupy Singla, who grew up in King of Prussia, adding “there’s a difference between spicy hot and flavorful.”
She shared a recipe for Black Bean Soup with Tomatillo, Roasted Corn and Jalapeño from “The Indian Slow Cooker Second Edition,” a new, updated version of her 2010 hit.
“It’s absolutely delicious,” she said. “It’s a great recipe for Super Bowl Sunday.”
A key technique: “making the most out of the spices that you have” by roasting or toasting them “in a dry pan with absolutely no moisture, no oil in it.”
“It’s about pulling the essential oils out of your spice,” Singla described, “and knowing which spices to do it with and which not to.”
Find her spices, sauces and books online at Indian As Apple Pie. Check out the Chile Spot at the West Chester Growers Market. Or experiment with Tajín, a Mexican spice mix available at local groceries. A sprinkle or two “livens up” fresh fruit and steamed vegetables.
“That’s something I’ve been enjoying lately,” said Porter, having first tasted the chile pepper, lime and salt combo on a business trip 20 years ago. “I’m really excited about that.”
Spoken like a true chilehead.
Souper Spicy Chicken Lime Soup
Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil 2 medium onions, diced 3 stalks celery, diced 3 carrots, peeled and diced
6 to 8 Anaheim chile peppers, seeds removed, diced 4 cloves of garlic, minced 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
1 teaspoon cumin Salt and pepper
Zest and juice of 2 limes 6 cups chicken broth 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
1 bunch cilantro, chopped 2 tablespoons rice vinegar Instructions
In large pot, heat olive oil. Add onion, carrot, celery, chile pepper and sauté for 6 to 8 minutes until softened and beginning to brown. Add ginger, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper and sauté an additional 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and lime zest, bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. Add shredded chicken, cilantro, vinegar and lime juice. Mix well. Remove from heat; serve hot with additional cilantro. RECIPE COURTESY OF CHILE SPOT
Bayou Shrimp with Tabasco Butter
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup chopped chives or green onions (scallions)
4 teaspoons “crab boil,” Emeril’s Essence or other Creole seasoning, ground fine
2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce, Frank’s Hot Sauce or other hot sauce
1 cup sliced red onion 1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/3 cup dry vermouth
For the Tabasco butter: Mix the first four ingredients in a bowl. For the shrimp: Melt 2 tablespoons Tabasco butter in a large, heavy skillet over mediumhigh heat. Add the onion and cook about 3 minutes. Add the peppers and garlic and cook until all the vegetables are almost tender about 2 more minutes. Push vegetables to the side of the skillet and add 2 more tablespoons of Tabasco butter. Add the shrimp and cook, gently stirring and flipping, until almost cooked about 2 minutes. Then mix with the vegetables and season with salt. Add the vermouth and boil for a minute. Add the rest of the Tabasco butter and swirl just until melted. Serve over grits or rice. RECIPE COURTESY OF EXECUTIVE CHEF BRENDA KIEFFER
Black Bean Soup with Tomatillo, Roasted Corn and Jalapeño
Slow Cooker Size: 5-quart Cooking Time: 6 hours on high
Yield: 16 cups
I love that Indian and Mexican cuisines share a love of cumin seeds. This recipe came to me after weeks of trying others and not being satisfied. I wanted deeper flavors, which roasting your peppers and corn provides. I also like sneaking in healing Indian spices like turmeric whenever I can without affecting the basic taste profile of a dish. My kids say this is their favorite soup.
3 cups dried black beans, picked over, washed and soaked at least 2 hours
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons cumin seeds 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
6 cloves garlic, minced 1 medium onion, minced 2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 tomatillos, husks removed and diced
2 jalapeño peppers, roasted and chopped 2 tablespoons sea salt 2 heaping teaspoons hot sauce (any kind), optional 9 cups water
3 ears of corn, roasted and kernels removed Juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Drain the beans and put them in the slow cooker. In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the cumin, black pepper and turmeric. Cook about 1 minute, until the seeds sizzle and turn reddish brown. Add the garlic and onion. Cook about 1 minute. Add the carrots and tomatillos. Cook another 2 minutes until the vegetables soften slightly. Stir well. Add this mixture to the slow cooker along with the jalapeños, salt, hot sauce (if using) and water. Cook on high for 6 hours. Once cooked, remove 1 cup of the beans. Blend the rest of the soup until smooth either with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender. Return the reserved beans to the soup and add the corn, lime juice and cilantro. Stir well. Serve piping hot garnished with sliced avocado, crushed tortilla chips, a pinch of grated cheese and/ or a dollop of sour cream.
NOTES: I roast my peppers and corn right on my gas range. You can also roast them in the oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 minutes, turning in between. If you can’t find tomatillos, a green Mexican fruit resembling green tomatoes, use 3 stalks of celery. Omit the hot sauce if you don’t like it spicy, but
I like adding just another layer of heat and flavor. Our favorite is a habanero hot sauce, but any store-bought hot sauce will do.
To make this dish in a 3-quart slow cooker, halve all the ingredients and proceed with the recipe. Cook for 4 hours. A half recipe makes 8 cups. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM THE INDIAN SLOW COOKER, 2ED. BY ANUPY SINGLA, AGATE SURREY, NOVEMBER 2018.
Some like it hot…
Heat up your recipes with some local flavor like Screamin’ Scorpion Sauce or Peach Mango Habanero Jam from Chile Spot in Downingtown.
At Hazel and Ash Organics in Coatesville, find Habanero & Lime Hot Sauce, Spicy Cucumber Relish and more.
Ben De Carlo of Rocky’s Hot Sauce in Oreland offers eight flavors: original, pineapple, taco, garlic, bacon, BBQ, lime and 3.0.
And at Homesweet Homegrown in Kutztown, Robyn Jasko makes three varieties, including Punch Drunk Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce with craft beer, raw cacao and chia seeds.