Summer Spice Is So Nice

Native corn is here...and it's sweet and juicy and so very tender. We love to eat it on the cob, dripping with butter and sprinkled with salt and pepper. But when we've had our fill, and want to mix it up a bit, we eat it this way--creamed, spiked with slivers of spicy roasted chiles, and smothered with cotija cheese.

You may think that it's a bit sacrilegious to eat Cape Cod corn prepared in such a manner, but I think it rather likes to be dressed up a bit. Everyone needs a little spice in her life every now and then, right? If you can't find cotija cheese in your market, look for a good quality salty feta cheese to crumble on top.






Smothered Mexican Street Corn

While you can use frozen corn to make this recipe, fresh, seasonal, and local corn tastes best. Look for cotija cheese and creme fraiche in the dairy section of your regular market, but in a pinch, feta cheese and sour cream can be substituted with good results.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: serves 4-6

Ingredients:

5 ears of corn, shucked, cleaned of silks and cut off the cob
3 fresh poblano chiles
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
1/2 cup cotija or feta cheese, crumbled

Preparation:

1. Roast poblano chiles over an open flame on a gas burner or under a broiler, using tongs to turn frequently, until the skin has blackened on all sides. Wrap in a paper towel and set aside for 5 minutes.

2. Using the paper towel, rub the skins off the chiles, then remove the stem and seeds. Cut each chile into 1/2 inch strips, then again into 1/2 inch segments. Set aside.

3. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add onion and cumin and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent and soft, about 5 minutes.

4. Stir in corn, chiles and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until corn is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in creme fraiche and cook for 2 minutes more. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if desired.

5. Pour into serving bowl and sprinkle with cotija cheese. Serve immediately.

Chicken Chili with Roasted Pasilla Chiles

For Halloween, we always have chili and cornbread, we always drink apple martinis, and we always have Pumpkin Dump Cake for dessert. It is a tradition we have shared with our neighbors for many years, and hopefully for many years to come. My neighbor makes a delicious version of the famous Chasen's Chili each year, and this year I tried out a new recipe with chicken. My sister's boyfriend, who is a huge fan of chicken tortilla soup, was crazy for it. Inspired by a recipe from Sarah Foster, I hope you like it too!

Chicken Chili with Roasted Pasilla Chiles

For Chili:

2 large pasilla or poblano chilis

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely diced

1 T chili powder

1 t oregano

2 bay leaves

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 C apple cider

4 C chicken broth

2 cans white beans

Salt and pepper

Poached Chicken:

1 whole chicken

2 chopped celery stalks

2 chopped carrots

5 peppercorns

2 bay leaves

1 T better than bouillon chicken

Poach chicken in a pot of water, with celery, carrots, peppercorns, and bay leaves for about 1 hour or until chicken is done. When chicken cools, shred meat and place in bowl. Reserve 4 cups poaching liquid and freeze the rest (great for soups).

For chili, roast chilis over open flame (or broil, turning frequently) until blackened on all sides. Wrap in plastic wrap for 5 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Using paper towel, rub off skin, then chop and seed. Saute onion in oil for about 10 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic and saute one minute. Add pasilla chilis, chili powder, and oregano and saute for 2 minutes more. Add apple cider, broth, and tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes. Add chicken, beans, and bay leaves and simmer for 10 minutes, or until heated through. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

Can be made one day in advance. Add chicken and bay leaves (not beans) and refrigerate over night. When reheated on stove, add beans and simmer 5 minutes more. Also, instead of poaching your own chicken, you can use canned broth and a rotisserie chicken from the market.

Some Like it Hot

I really like spicy food, especially when it is seasoned with fresh chilis. There is an astounding variety of chilis, some so tiny that they are the size of a fingernail, and some longer than a hand. Chilis are from the genus Capsicum, which are members of the nightshade family. The smaller varieties are usually known as chilis and the larger ones are known as peppers (as in bell peppers).

Archaeologists believe that chilis have been in the human diet for about 10,000 years, and perhaps earlier, and there is evidence that humans domesticated them more than 6,000 years ago, as one of the very first cultivated crops. Many cultures around the globe have used chilis for medicinal and religious purposes, as well as for seasoning their food.

The heat in a chili is caused by the chemical capsaican and measured in Scoville Units, with bell peppers ranking at 0, jalapeños ranking between 3,000-6,000 and habañeros at 300,000. The hottest chili ever recorded in the Guinness Book of Records was a Jaga Jolokia measuring over 1,000,000 Scoville Units. Most of the capsaican in a chili is located in its veins and seeds, so by removing those before using, it is possible to reduce the heat. The oils containing the capsaican can remain on the skin for hours, so it is important to wear rubber gloves when working with chilis. There is nothing worse than rubbing your eyes after cutting jalapeños. Yes, I know from experience. Some folks swear by rinsing the hands in a mild bleach solution to rid hands of the oils, but I have never tried that.

Chilis can be used raw, dried, and roasted. They can be fried, stuffed, ground into a paste or pickled. Americans are very familiar with Tabasco sauce (cayenne peppers) and chili powder, which is a blend of dried chilis, cumin, garlic and other herbs. But there are so many other chili products widely available in the market now like pickled jalapeños, sambal-olek, and sriracha sauce, that are delicious and should be tried.

In the peak of summer I bought some tiny red and green Thai chilis that were fiery hot. At the farmers market this week, I bought a beautiful Pasilla chili. The Scoville Unit for such a chili is 2,500-5,000, so comparatively speaking, they have a warm heat but aren't particularly spicy. They are a deep, forest green and shiny, and measure about 3 inches wide and 4-5 inches long. In other regions around the country they are known as Poblano chilis. Mexicans use them for their delicious stuffed Chiles Rellenos, which is essentially a chili stuffed with cheese, then battered and fried. I roasted mine over an open flame then sautéed it with garlic and onion, finally pureeing it with cream to make a sauce for sauteed chicken breasts. It was mild, creamy and had a slightly nutty taste from roasting the pepper.


Chicken in Pasilla Cream Sauce
adapted from Everyday Food

1 Pasilla or Poblano Chili
1/2 C chopped onion

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

olive oil

1/3 C cream

salt and pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Roast the chili over an open flame or under the broiler until the skin is charred and blistered. Wrap in plastic wrap for 5 minutes then using a paper towel, rub the skin off. Seed and chop.

Meanwhile, saute onion and garlic over medium heat in a bit of olive oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Add chopped chili to pan and saute 2 minutes longer. Add cream and stir, scraping up all the delicious juices from the pan. Pour mixture into a blender or mini-prep and purée. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Wipe pan clean with paper towel and add a bit more olive oil. Sauté chicken over medium high heat for 5 minutes on each side until cooked through. Slice breasts and drizzle with Pasilla Cream sauce. Serve with rice and avocado slices.