Chipotles en adobo

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September 21, 2012 by ajournalfromthekitchen

This looks pretty unappetising and to be honest it didn’t smell great when it was cooking. But the finished product is absolutely delicious. The chipotles are smokey, spicey, slightly sweet and so tasty.

The recipe for this comes from Thomasina Miers’ Mexican Food Made Simple. Its a book that I would highly recommend, it’s full of really delicious recipes that are easy to make and authentically Mexican. No Tex-Mex here!

Making this puree takes a bit of time and effort but its well worth the patience because its delicious and it makes loads, enough to last you through at least 6 months, and probably more because you only need about a teaspoon to totally transform a tomato sauce, mayonnaise or a vegetarian chili.

I got my chillies from http://www.southdevonchillifarm.co.uk/ and they were the cheapest that I found. They are fairly expensive and you do need 200g but like I said this does make loads of sauce that will keep really well so for me it was worth the investment.

Chipotles en adobo

From Thomasina Miers ‘Mexican Food Made Simple’

Makes 1 litre.

200g chipotle chillies

1 large onion, roughly chopped

a whole head of garlic, roughly chopped

3 tbs fresh oregano or a few pinches of dried

1-2 tablespoons thyme leaves

2 bay leaves

1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed

4 tbs olive oil

350ml white wine vinegar

50 ml balsamic vinegar

3 tbs tomato puree

7 tbs demerara sugar

2 tbs salt

Wash the chilies in cold water and drain them. Using scissors cut off the stalk of each chilli (this will let the water in to rehydrate them).

Put the chillies in a pan and cover with water, bring to a simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until they are totally soft. Drain but keep the water. In the colander gently rinse of any excess seeds.

Put the onion, garlic, herbs and cumin in a blender with 200ml of the drained chilli water and a handful of the chillies. Whizz to a smooth puree.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan until its smoking hot. Add the chilli paste and fry for a few minutes, continuously stirring. Add the vinegars, tomato puree, sugar, salt and another 100ml of the cooking water and cook for a further 5 miuntes.

Add the rest of the chillis and simmer for another 15 minutes.

At this point you can leave it chunky or puree the whole thing. I did the latter because I think its easier to dollop it into whatever you’re cooking if its a smoother texture.

Check for seasoning and then pour into sterilised jam jars.