Results tagged “chili”


The Poblano chile is a star in Mexican kitchens. It is used in a wide range of ways and in a wide range of dishes. Some well known examples are Chiles en Nogada, rajas, pickled, and stuffed with meat or cheese and bathed in a tomato sauce. But there are hundreds of other ways...

Aside from being absolutely gorgeous - chubby, curvy, large, sensuous and with a beautiful dark green color with a bit of a shine to it- it has a striking flavor -rich, exuberant and fruity.  It tends to be a bit capricious as well: it ranges from the very mild to the very hot. However, there are ways to tame its heat (continue for more information and photo).
Continue reading Poblano Chile or Pepper  |  COMMENTS (0)


The Mulato chile has similar looks to the Ancho chile but instead of a reddish black skin it has a dark black skin. You can tell the difference much better against the light! The Mulato chile also has a sweeter, fuller and more chocolaty flavor than the Ancho. No doubt they are different as they come from different chiles.

The Ancho chile comes from the dried regular Poblano chile. The Mulato chile comes from a variation of the Chile Poblano that has slightly different genes with a darker color and fuller flavor. It is hard to find the latter Poblano chile variation, as the growers prefer to dry them since they can sell them at a higher price at the markets (continue for photo).
Continue reading Mulato Chile  |  COMMENTS (1)

January 22, 2010 9:15 AM

This salsa does hurt.

But just a little.

Yet it goes oh-so-well with the Pollo Pibil, which together with red pickled onions makes for a delicious Yucatecan meal. A bowl of this Habanero salsa is standard on just about every table in Yucatán. Around there, people drizzle some spoonfuls, or drops, on just about everything.

I recently found this salsa is heavenly combined with Louisiana style Bar-b-que and some baked beans (!). While it can make people very unhappy if not given a warning of how spicy it is, for the Yucatan class we had in December, the 20 batches made were gone before the middle of the meal. We did give our guests a warning... While my cooking team kept saying I was making too much, we made some bets, and much to my surprise, I won. I have learned now, that the American and international palate is much more open, than say a decade ago, for spicy foods. 

Habanero chiles are one happy looking bunch. They have colorful colors that go from green to the yellow, and then orange to red as they mature. They are small, cute, shinny and have waxy skin. But as much as their looks are inviting, they are the spiciest chiles in Mexican cuisine. They are incredibly fierce. With a rating of 300,000 to 350,000 on the Scoville scale for measuring hotness of a chili pepper, you can get an idea of how hot they are: Jalapeños go around 10,000 to 15,000 (click for more information and photo). 

Continue reading Habanero Chile  |  COMMENTS (0)


Banana peppers are called chiles güeros in many regions of Mexico. Güero, translates to blond, name given because of their pale, yellowish color. There are different varieties or banana peppers, but they are pale and light in looks, have waxy skin, and a similar flavor to Jalapeños. Their heat level can range from mild to hot (continue for more information and photo).

January 14, 2010 6:00 PM

"Right off the bat, you must understand: I heart chorizo.  Especially the kind I grew up eating in Mexico.  It comes in deep-burnt-reddish links of fresh, moist, exotically seasoned ground meat that, once fried, becomes crisp and filling bites with bold flavors and a thousand uses.

My oldest son's quick choice for breakfast is chorizo fried until it browns and crisps, with a side of white toast.  Add some lightly beaten eggs as the chorizo is starting to brown and some ripe and creamy avocado slices on the side, and that's my kind of rich-tasting brunch dish.  Of course chorizo is delicious in sandwiches, in tacos and quesadillas, on top of enchiladas, in mashed potatoes, as a topping for heartier salads, in some of the tastiest bean dishes I have tried, in pastas with a ton of personality and on pizzas with pickled jalapeño peppers on top.

I am really trying to stop myself here..."

Article written for and published by The Washington Post.  To read entire article and to get recipes for Mexican-Style Pasta with Tomato Sauce and Chorizo (pictured above), Cowboy Beans (Frijoles Charros), Potato, Scallion and Chorizo Crispy Tacos, and Warm Sweet Potato Salad with Chorizo, click here.

November 18, 2009 1:15 PM

Our friends Tamara and Sean are crazy foodies and fans of the richness and versatility of chilies. So after receiving the invitation to join them next week for their Thanksgiving feast, I started playing with options on what to bring; with chilies of course.

This is one of the things I came up with and can't wait for them to try:  creamy and soft sweet potatoes bathed in a buttery orange-piloncillo syrup sprinkled, with toasted chile de arbol. How good are they? That fork in the picture I just shot accounts for my third consecutive serving today. How easy are they to make? Read below... 


Chile de árbol is a very spicy, yet incredibly flavorful dried chile. It is small, but elongated and thin. It has a deep and shinny orange-red color and it is used in many, many ways. It is often crushed for very spicy table salsas, though it is also used to add flavor and a bit of heat if not opened when cooking, amongst others (continue for more information and photo).
 
Continue reading Chile de Árbol  |  COMMENTS (0)

November 5, 2009 11:05 AM

You know how some people become attached to a certain dish? They try it somewhere once and then want to go back to eat it again and again, or they make it at home repeatedly in an until-death-do-us-part kind of vow? Well, I am one of those people, and I have made that vow with quite a few dishes from the Mexican state of Michoacan.

It surprises me how Michoacan's cuisine has remained such a well-kept secret. It has a defined personality and a complex layering of delicious flavors like the more popular cuisines from Oaxaca and Puebla, but its dishes seem to be a bit more comforting and use fewer ingredients.

Article written for and published by National Public Radio's Kitchen Window. To read entire article and to get recipes for Tarascan Bean and Tomato Soup, Brisket in a Tomatillo and Pasilla Chili Sauce and Guava Cheesecake, click here in Kitchen Window.



Mexican cooking authority Diana Kennedy has said that the Serrano chile has the shape of a bullet. One could say that it tastes like one too! Serranos are spicy. However, as with most chiles, you can pump down the heat by removing the seeds and veins.

They have, like the Jalapeños, a dark and deep green color, shinny skin and a small and thin stem.  However, Serranos tend to be on the smaller side and are much thinner and appear longer continue for more information and photo).

Continue reading Serrano Chile  |  COMMENTS (0)


This is probably the most well known fresh chile outside of Mexico. It is extremely popular inside the country as well. It looks a bit similar to the Serrano chile, and can be used interchangeably, thus they are many times confused. They are both dark green, with a shine to them, and carry a small and thin darker stem.

However, the Jalapeño is larger, bigger, rounder and chubbier than the Serrano. Ironically, it is milder in heat and has a lighter taste. Just as most fresh chiles, its heat can be pumped down by removing the seeds and veins. Similarly as other fresh chiles, don't buy them if they have wrinkled skin or dark brown or black spots (continue for more information and photo).
Continue reading Jalapeño Chile  |  COMMENTS (0)

The Ancho chile is a stellar ingredient in Mexican cuisine. It is probably the most used dried Chile throughout Mexico and no wonder why: Its flavor is unmatchable.

The Ancho is the Poblano Chile that has been ripened to a deep red and then dried. This concentrates the already exuberant and fruity flavors of the Poblanos (continue for more information and photo). 

Continue reading Ancho Chile  |  COMMENTS (0)

Previous  1  Next