Lady Jane's Chili Paste

As a way of showing my gratitude to Sparky and Mrs. Duck for sharing their yummy Apple Cake recipe, I thought I'd share my recipe for homemade chili paste.

This is a great GREAT alternative to the chili powder, any recipe that calls for chili powder, use this instead! It is hotter than chili powder, but the flavor is more complex and I promise that you'll make the best chili or red sauce with this paste.
Semantics: The paste keeps frozen well for ~ 6 months. I make a double batch, because there is a fair amount of work that goes into making the paste. You can order all of these chiles online at: http://www.loschileros.com/ But if you do, please make up the chili paste ASAP, as the dried chiles get "icky" rather quickly.

Warning! Please use gloves when handling the chiles. There's alot of capsasin flying about!

Lady Jane's Scorchin' Chili Paste
(makes about 2 cups)

~3 oz New Mexico or California red chili pods (~12 chiles)
3 cups of water
~ 2 oz Ancho chiles (~2-3 large chiles)
~ 1 oz guarillo chiles (~6 chiles)
2 pasilla chiles (~ 2 oz. Pasilla chiles are also known as Chile Negro)
2-4 tbsp Adobo from canned chipotles

1. Remove the stems from the chiles and tear into ~1/2 inch pieces. Place into large, heatproof bowl.

2. Bring the water to a boil. Pour the water over the chiles, stir well and cover. This, I call the chili sauna. Let them hang out there for 2-3 hours, stirring occassionally.

3. Drain the chiles, reserving the liquid. In small batches, puree the solids in a food processor until smooth.

4. Press the puree through a fine-mesh food mill (some folks use a sieve, but the food mill makes it easy!) to remove any unprocessed bits or tough skin parts. Stir in the reserved soaking liquid and Adobo sauce.

5. Cover and refridgerate or freeze until use!


Next Friday, I'll serve up a recipe for red sauce.

Mildly yours, LJS