HATCH POWER CHOWDER
Whoa,
One year since my last post lamenting the sorry state of chile competition at Central Market. Is my skin that thin? or did the food muse just take a sabbatical. Well a year is more than enough time to lick my wounds ( and the spoon of defeat ) and get back in the blog saddle.
So we jumped in for a stem to stern kicthen/pantry clean out on the heels of our son heading off to school, Ahh the freedom to toss out all the moldering ingredients we felt compelled to husband for the past 2 years, not wanting a lecture on why it is an indefensible sin to throw away inedible and most likely, neolithic remnants taking up space in the larder. I devised to, at the very least, use what few tins of ingredients that were not too toxically out of date. So, before us sat a handful of sad cans and a bushel of fresh Hatch chiles waiting to be transformed.
Resuced Larder:
2 16 oz cans, Golden Hominy, ( not yet bulging ).
1 cup frozen corn (defrost the artic ice rime and drain).
2 tablespoons all pupose flour ( de-wevilled ).
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley rescued from the back of the refrigerator.
1 teaspoon minced chives, resting alongside the parsley.
1/4 cup diced leek ( how long was this sitting in the bottom of the veggie drawer.?)
1 teapoon of frozen homemade garlic puree.
1 tablespoon chicken base scraped from the bottom of a languishing but refrigerated jar.
1 tablespoon of golden sherry, the last drib from the bottle.
1 cup oyster crackers, from... last month?
1/4 cup heavy cream, only days past it's stated prime, but no stink.
New food:
1 teaspoon Aleppo Pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teasponn ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pinch grated fresh lemon zest
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup whole milk
1 cup hatch chile puree ( see below )
The hatch puree is a combo of onion, chopped hatch peppers. a few garlic cloves and chicken stock previously sauted and then stewed down till very soft. Then blended into a thick smooth green paste.
GO TO WORK.
In a decent sized saucepan melt the butter and saute the corn and leeks till translucent, toss in half the Aleppo Pepper
and flour, on medium heat cook the down the flour till just tan.
Stir in the garlic puree and slowly add the chicken stock and milk scraping the bottom to get all the browned flour incorporated.
When the chowder thickens add the remaing cream, hominy, zest, hatch chile puree, thyme, chives, white and black pepper and a bit of salt.
Bing to high simmer for 10 minutes, adjust seasoning and add the sherry.
Plate in a shallow bowl, garnish with the last of the Aleppo sherry and artfully toss in a couple of spoons of oyster crackers.
Was it tasty? Over the top, with a wonderful pale green glow and heat to match that sneaks up behind the creamy goodness, Bonus !, it was thrown together from the dribs and drabs about to be jettisoned to the landfill.
Resuced Larder:
2 16 oz cans, Golden Hominy, ( not yet bulging ).
1 cup frozen corn (defrost the artic ice rime and drain).
2 tablespoons all pupose flour ( de-wevilled ).
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley rescued from the back of the refrigerator.
1 teaspoon minced chives, resting alongside the parsley.
1/4 cup diced leek ( how long was this sitting in the bottom of the veggie drawer.?)
1 teapoon of frozen homemade garlic puree.
1 tablespoon chicken base scraped from the bottom of a languishing but refrigerated jar.
1 tablespoon of golden sherry, the last drib from the bottle.
1 cup oyster crackers, from... last month?
1/4 cup heavy cream, only days past it's stated prime, but no stink.
New food:
1 teaspoon Aleppo Pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teasponn ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pinch grated fresh lemon zest
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup whole milk
1 cup hatch chile puree ( see below )
The hatch puree is a combo of onion, chopped hatch peppers. a few garlic cloves and chicken stock previously sauted and then stewed down till very soft. Then blended into a thick smooth green paste.
GO TO WORK.
In a decent sized saucepan melt the butter and saute the corn and leeks till translucent, toss in half the Aleppo Pepper
and flour, on medium heat cook the down the flour till just tan.
Stir in the garlic puree and slowly add the chicken stock and milk scraping the bottom to get all the browned flour incorporated.
When the chowder thickens add the remaing cream, hominy, zest, hatch chile puree, thyme, chives, white and black pepper and a bit of salt.
Bing to high simmer for 10 minutes, adjust seasoning and add the sherry.
Plate in a shallow bowl, garnish with the last of the Aleppo sherry and artfully toss in a couple of spoons of oyster crackers.
Was it tasty? Over the top, with a wonderful pale green glow and heat to match that sneaks up behind the creamy goodness, Bonus !, it was thrown together from the dribs and drabs about to be jettisoned to the landfill.
