Garlic Ancho Chile Paste
Mexican chile pastes of many hues and potencies dotted our fridge in the days leading up to Easter. After a spirited debate about menu and theme, we decided to cook a Mexican inspired meal for the holiday. Armed with a dozen cookbooks, bags of chiles, and advice from the helpful staff at our local Latin market, we set to work testing the recipes. After many heaps of charred chiles, garlic and herbs were pureed and perfected, we had a winner.
This Garlic Ancho Chile Paste is smokey, slightly sweet, medium spicy, and richly layered with roasted garlic and spices. Chile pastes are common in Mexican cooking, providing a complex base, potent marinade, or vibrant accent flavor. Ancho chiles are one of our favorites. These dried reddish-brown poblano chile peppers are popular in Mexican cuisine. This gorgeous paste is the starring ingredient in our Charred Ancho Mexican Red Rice and Ancho Cheddar Burgers. This recipe is adapted from Rick Bayless.
Yield: About 1 cup
Ingredients:
- 5 dried ancho chiles
- 10 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2/3 cup boiling water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground sweet paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt
Steps:
- Preheat grill or heavy pan on high heat. Spread out the dried ancho chiles and garlic. Toast for 3-5 minutes, turning frequently, until the garlic and anchos soften, and brown (even blacken in spots). The anchos may puff up, don't worry.
- With tongs, remove anchos and garlic from heat. Set the garlic aside. Cut the stems off the anchos and shake out and discard the seeds and stems.
- In a small bowl, tear up the anchos and cover with the boiling water. Cover the bowl and allow to soften while you prepare the spices.
- Heat a small pan over medium heat. To the dry hot pan, add the paprika, oregano, black pepper, cumin, and cloves. Toast the spices, stirring constantly until fragrant (about 1 minute). Remove from heat and transfer to a small bowl.
- Add all ingredients (toasted garlic, toasted and soaked anchos with soaking liquid, toasted spices, and salt) to a blender or food processor. Blend for 1-2 minutes, until it forms a smooth paste.
- Use immediately, or stores up to 2 weeks covered tightly in the refrigerator. Conveniently freeze leftovers in an ice cube tray for later use.
Notes:
This chile paste is excellent as a condiment, mixed into rice, added into a salsa with fresh tomatoes, in tacos, added to chili or any other bean dish, as a marinade meats or fish, or in enchilada or mole sauce.
Charred Garlic Salsa
To celebrate the garlic season, we've been eating batch after batch of this sweet, smokey, and nutty Charred Garlic Salsa. It's easy to slip into thinking of garlic as a year-round kitchen workhorse, rather than as a seasonal specialty worth savoring in its own right. If you've never paused to taste the difference between early summer's stale grocery garlic and the in-season local variety, this is the perfect vehicle to indulge. Charred Garlic Salsa is inspired by the flavors and techniques of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, and is delicious with chips, on bread, with grilled meats, tacos, or as an amazing condiment for sandwiches.
Charred Ancho Mexican Red Rice
Charred Ancho Mexican Red Rice has a mellow chile flavor and vivid hue which highlights the smokey, slightly sweet and garlicky flavors of our Garlic Ancho Chile Paste. This spicy rust colored Mexican red rice is complex and filling and can be served as a main, as a side dish to slow roasted meat, or as a starch base. Ancho chiles are ubiquitous in Mexican cuisine, we love their mild fruity flavor and always keep a large quantity on hand. Prolific Mexican cookbook author Rick Bayless, from whom this recipe is adapted, describes the flavor of anchos as “sweet dark cherries, prunes, and fresh tobacco." Charred Ancho Mexican Red Rice is an unusual rice dish, and one that has the benefit of being quick to make and can be easily made ahead, perfect for entertaining.
Smokey Ancho Cheddar Burgers
In honor of festive eats and Mexican flavors on this Cinco De Mayo, we wanted to share one of our latest favorites: Smokey Ancho Cheddar Burgers. Despite the ample use of homemade Garlic Ancho Chile Paste, these burgers are not spicy, but bursting with sweet roasted garlic and smokey, earthy, dried anchos. Tangy melted cheddar, addictive ancho mayonnaise, and bright bursts of Yucatán Quick Pickled Red Onions garnish this delicious burger to mouthwatering perfection.
Mayan Red Spice Paste, Recado Colorado
complex base, potent marinade, or vibrant accent flavor. Mayan Red Spice Paste, Recado Colorado, is popular, both for its beautiful vibrant red hue, and warm tangy flavor. Rich in color, and fall flavors, our non-traditional take on Recado Colorado streamlines the preparation process. Recado Colorado is excellent for making red rice, a great base for barbecue sauces, a go-to rub for meats, on burgers, and a potent flavor boost for chilis and other soups. Stay tuned for two fantastic recipes using our Mayan Red Spice Paste coming up in the weeks ahead.
You may have noticed that we have a fondness for spice pastes here at The Hungry Hounds. If you too have caught the flavor paste obsession, check out our two other potent pastes: Smokey Mexican Chile Paste, Chilmole, and Garlic Ancho Chile Paste.
Smokey Mexican Chile Paste, Chilmole
Last weekend, Rebecca and I moved into our permanent house here in Haiti. What a relief after months of transition. With food on the mind, our first order of business was setting up the grill! And yes, if you were wondering... it is the same grill we had in Pittsburgh for 8 years, lovingly disassembled and brought over in a suitcase by my MacGyver-of-a-father. As temperatures rise, there is just something special about grilled food. Maybe its that the smokey char reminds me of campfires and sleeping under the stars, maybe its just the uncomplicated joy of cooking over flames. For me, this Smokey Mexican Chile Paste is the closest thing there is to bottling all that is beautiful about grilling. Our non-traditional take on Mexican chilmole paste tempers the hard char of the classic black version, for a lighter, more fruity chili flavor. This paste is excellent for making red rice, a great base for barbecue sauces, a go-to rub for meats, and a potent flavor boost for chilis and other soups.
