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Hot chilies transform soups and sauces Posted: Friday, March 1, 2013 6:06 pm AIMEE BLUME Scripps Howard News Service Hot chilies are members of the nightshade family, along with all other sweet peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplant. The chemical that makes chilies "hot" is capsaicin; it is mostly found in the seeds and pale veins along the insides of the chili. "Hot" is not a taste the way salty or bitter are. Tastes are detected with the taste buds only, while capsaicin is an irritant that affects any part of the skin and especially mucous membranes. Sugar isn't sweet if it gets in your eye, but capsaicin is still hot as many of us know from unfortunate experience of touching an eye with a finger used to handle chili peppers while chopping. In traditional Mexican cooking, the type of chili called for in a recipe is specific. A sauce originating in one village might contain three ancho chilies and two pasilla chilies, while a similar sauce from another region might insist on one large mulato chili and two chilies negro. Cookbooks offer substitutes -- if you can't find this, use that one instead. To confuse the issue further, one chili might have a different name in different parts of Mexico, and the same name might be used for different chilies in different locales as well. Is it that important? Really, other than heat level, is one dried chili that different from another once it is ground or pureed into a sauce? Only one way to find out. We tasted seven mild to medium-hot dried chilies easily available. We stemmed and seeded the pods and removed as much of the interior veins as possible, then soaked seven grams of the chili pieces in a half cup of hot water for one hour, then pureed them with 1/4 teaspoon salt. After tasting them this way, we made a simple batch of enchilada sauce with browned flour and oil, chicken stock, cinnamon, honey, lemon juice and cocoa, and combined sauce with the chili purees, each in equal parts.
GARLIC AND PASILLA CHILI SOUP
Serves 4
In a large bowl, cover the chilies with the hot water; set a small plate over the chilies to keep them submerged. Let soak until softened, about 20 minutes. Strain and reserve the soaking liquid. Stem, seed and coarsely chop the chilies.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped chilies and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato, oregano, a pinch of salt and the strained-chili soaking liquid and bring to a boil. Cover the soup and simmer gently over low heat for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a cake pan, toss the diced baguette with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and spread in an even layer. Bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes.
Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender (or use an immersion blender). Return the soup to the saucepan, bring to a simmer and season with salt. Ladle the soup into bowls. Top with the creme fraiche, avocado, cilantro leaves and croutons and serve.
-- "Food and Wine," by Jean-Claude Szurdak
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