Happy Birthday Honey

Posted on August 15, 2013 by loschileros

3:00 a.m. and you wake up in a cold sweat. A sea of panic rolls over you. Whose idea was it for you to host this birthday party anyway? Of course you then remember you offered to do. I think your exact words were: “It’s no big deal.” And it’s not really a big deal is it? It’s not like you haven’t hosted parties before.

But a birthday party is different. There is an expectation that the day is going to be perfect (whatever that means) and guess whose shoulders that bad boy falls on? You got it champ – you.

So turn on the bedside lamp, take a deep breath, get a pad of paper and don’t freak out. Make a list – what you’re going to serve, when you’re going to make it and what you’re going to serve it on. And before you start dreaming about baked Alaska and flambéing steaks table-side, think again.

The key to a birthday party – any part in fact – is to do-ahead as much as you can. No one – your guests or you – wants you stuck in the kitchen. It makes you grumpy and they feel vaguely guilty. You miss all the good gossip and are tuckered out before the first bite of food.

So for this birthday party I did it all ahead – well practically. Giant couscous salad with artichoke hearts and black olives; roasted sweet potatoes and red onions with a cilantro oil; tossed salad and French bread. But every meal needs a secret weapon and mine was a honey, chile and thyme marinated pork tenderloin. I let it sit in the fridge all day so the flavors were there then popped that puppy on the grill.

The real secret was the honey. I got it from an amazing woman named Diane Ravens – an incredible beekeeper who lives in Ocoee, Tennessee at foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. This is a woman who loves her bees and has been creating amazing honey for almost 20 years. I used her Sourwood honey which has an incredible taste to it – I’m talking spoon-it-out of-the-jar-and-eat it delicious. Using her Appalachian Bee honey reminded me that food doesn’t need to be fussy when you use the very best ingredients and trust me, her honey is the best. You can find out more about Diane, her bees and even order some super yummy honey at www.honeybeesrock.com.

Honey, chile & thyme pork tenderloin

Serves 8-10

2 ½ pounds pork tenderloin
¼ cup sourwood honey or other honey
¼ cup olive oil
1 Tbsp mild chile molido (or half mild and half hot)
1 ½ Tbsp thyme leaves

Make the marinade by mixing together the honey, olive oil, chile and thyme leaves. Pour over the pork and ensure the pork is evenly coated. Store in a bowl or large plastic baggie. Place in the fridge and marinade for several hours or over night. Remove from the fridge about half an hour before grilling.

Heat the barbecue and remove the pork from the marinade. Sear the pork on all sides, reduce the heat and barbecue until cooked through. I like my pork pink in middle, about 15 minutes total. If you’re unsure, use a meat thermometer (the USDA recommends 145º). But please, please don’t over cook it!

Remove, let rest then slice and serve.

Double-Smoked Lamb Chops

Posted on July 25, 2013 by loschileros

It’s an indulgence. It’s not for everyday. And it ain’t cheap. But life is short so when you’re in splurge mode, go for French-cut lamb chops. The ‘French’ means that the bones are exposed. This makes them lovely to look at and fun to eat because you can pick them up like a lollypop and chow down. Forget the fork and knife – this is adult finger food.

These chops are perfect for the BBQ – a quick minute or two over high heat and they’re good to go. A drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon and you’re talking seriously tasty (and I mean lick the plate tasty). A salad and some roasted potatoes and you’ve officially died and gone to heaven.

The only thing that makes them better is a little marinade to add a flavor punch. One of my favorites is a combo of two chile powders, both with a smoky edge to them. Chipotle gives the marinade smoke and heat while smoked sweet paprika is milder but with a lovely smoky aroma all its own.

If you haven’t used smoked sweet paprika (called pimento dulce ahumado in Spanish), you’re in for a treat. It hails from Spain where it’s made in Murcia (eastern Spain) and the La Vera region of Extremadura (western Spain). You can find it smoked and not smoked. Both types come in dulce (sweet), agridulce (bittersweet) and picante (spicy-hot)

Before you think I wrote the book about pimenton, I didn’t but I found the person who did. Her name is Janet Mendel and she’s got a great blog called My Kitchen in Spain. She’s a journalist and cookbook author and has lived in Spain for a longtime. If you’re having trouble finding smoked sweet paprika, never fear. In Santa Fe, we find it at The Spanish Table and they do mail order.

Double-Smoked Lamb Chops

French-cut lamb chops are typically sold in a rack that has 7 or 8 rib chops. You can ask your friendly meat guy or gal to cut the rack into individual ribs or do it yourself.

7-8 French-cut lamb chops, around 1 to 1¼ lbs.
½ tsp chipotle chile powder
½ tsp smoked mild paprika (pimenton dulce ahumado)
1 Tbsp finely chopped rosemary
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp sea salt

Mix the chipotle chile powder, sweet pimenton, rosemary, garlic and olive oil together. Place the lamb chops in a bowl or large plastic baggie and pour the marinade over them to coat.

Place the lamb chops in the fridge and marinade for several hours or over night. Before grilling, remove the lamb chops from the marinade and sprinkle with salt. Grill over high heat for about 2 minutes per side for medium rare. Serve with wedges of lemon and enjoy!

Chile Mango Salsa

Posted on May 23, 2013 by loschileros

Mangos are sexy. There, I’ve said it. Sure, it’s a tropical fruit and we know tropical is sexy but it’s more than that. They’re lush and perfumed…juicy and succulent. Hold a ripe mango up to your nose and take a deep whiff and you’ll know what I’m talking about: it’s heaven. And the best thing – that lovely sweetness isn’t afraid to stand up to chile. In fact, the two were made for each other.

Once upon a time, it was tough to get mangos but now it’s pretty easy. Most of our mangos come from Mexico, Haiti, the Caribbean and South America but you’ll find them growing in tropical climates all over the world. The countries where we get our mangos from have two main growing seasons so you can usually find mangos year round. And you’ll find some homegrown mangos from Florida, Hawaii, California and Puerto Rico.

For something that tastes so decadently sweet, mangos are surprisingly good for you. Actually, astonishingly good for you.They’ve got loads of Vitamins A and C and buckets of potassium. And very high fiber too, if I might add. And best of all they’re low calorie – about 110 calories for an average mango. Not bad.

I think what puts some people off mangos is slicing them and I’ll be honest, it is a bit of a fiddle. There is a fairly large stone in the middle which the flesh clings too so you can’t simply slice it in half like an avocado. You’ve got to slice around the stone and then take the skin off. It’s no big deal and I share my tips to make it easy in the recipe. Or go online and check out a video tutorial.

Lastly, before you slice into a mango, make sure it’s ripe. You can’t always tell by the color. Different varieties can be dark green, vibrant yellow or yellow and green with a red blush that makes it look like a really delicious Tequila Sunrise. The best test, is to gently press the skin. It should yield slightly. Oh, and of course take a whiff. Now tell me that’s not sexy.

Chile Mango Salsa

Makes about 1 cup of salsa but feel free to double or triple the recipe

1 ripe mango, cubed (see below) – about 1 cup
1 Tbsp red onion, finely chopped
Juice of ½ lime
1 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
½ tsp chile pequin
Pinch of sea salt

Mangos have a stone in the center that is about an inch wide. Insert the tip of your knife into either side of the stone. If you hit the stone, don’t worry. Just lift your knife and move it slightly over. Once on one side of the stone, slice through. Repeat on the other side. You now have two ‘cheeks’ that are slightly boat shaped. To remove the skin, place a cheek on your chopping board and slice it in half lengthwise. You’ll now have two quarters. Repeat with the other cheek so you have four quarters in total.

Now take your knife and insert it at one end as close to the mango skin as possible. Slide the knife between the skin and fruit to separate the two. I use a filleting knife for this because it has a slightly flexible blade that I find easier to use with mango. Repeat with the other mango quarters. You can also get an additional piece of flesh off either side of the stone. Dice the flesh.

Mix the mango with the other ingredients, check for seasoning and serve. Superb with chicken, seafood – shrimp, scallops, tuna, swordfish (you get the idea) or simply a bowl of tortilla chips. Best made no more than an hour or so before serving.

Chile Sea Salt Chocolates

Posted on May 17, 2013 by loschileros

You’re stranded on a desert island. You can take ten foods with you. And no, there isn’t any other food on the island. Just you, a lot of sand and some palm trees.

So what’s it going to be? Love asparagus? How about eating it everyday for the rest of your life? I mean, think about it – ten foods to eat forever. It’s not easy. Now the practical me, says lemons. They taste great and I won’t get scurvy and end up looking like a toothless pirate.

Chile, of course. Silly question. I’d have my own cache of red and green in powder, crushed and whole. Another no-brainer is chocolate. If I’m hanging out on an island, I want some chocolate because it a) tastes so darn good and, b) makes life look a bit better.

No wonder I love all those articles about the health benefits of chocolate – particularly dark chocolate. There are studies that say it decreases stroke risk, lowers blood pressure, reduces bad cholesterol, boosts your mood (no surprise there), improves vision and even has flavinoids that protect your skin from UV damage. Maybe I could slather some chocolate on as a sunscreen on my island…

And chocolate is a natural with chile. The ancient Aztecs loved drinking chocolate with chile. There’s a great book called The True History of Chocolate by Sophie and Michael Coe that charts the history of chocolate including the chocolate/chile connection.

But I digress….I’m off to a deserted island and I’m taking chocolate, chile and lemons and…I’ll get back to you…

What are your top-ten desert island food picks? Share them with us.

Chile Sea Salt Chocolates

This is my desert island homage. It’s got chile and chocolate and a pinch of sea salt. Heaven.

Makes approximately 20 1 ¾” dark chocolate discs and 20 white chocolate discs.

Dark Chocolate Discs

5 ½ oz dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
1 tsp chile molido (or more to taste)
1 tsp chile pequin
1 tsp sea salt flakes
1 Tbsp pistachios, roughly chopped

White Chocolate Discs

5 ½ oz white chocolate
1 tsp green chile powder (or more to taste)
1 tsp green chile caribe
1 tsp sea salt flakes
1 Tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted

The technique for both white and dark chocolate is the same. Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan filled with simmering water. Melt the chocolate making sure not to over heat it– chocolate can easily separate. When about two-thirds of the chocolate is melted, remove the bowl from the saucepan and stir until the chocolate is completely melted and silky smooth. Stir in the chile powder and taste. You can add more if you’d like more heat but remember you’re topping with chile flakes so don’t go overboard.

Place a non-stick silpat sheet or piece of baking parchment on the counter. Spoon about a tablespoon of the melted chocolate onto silpat or parchment to form a round disc, about 1 ½ to 1 ¾“ in diameter. Dot each one with a few nuts, chile pepper flakes and sea salt flakes. Repeat with the rest of the chocolate. Set aside until the chocolate hardens.

Can be kept in a container in a cool place (but don’t refrigerate).

Aglio e Olio

Posted on May 8, 2013 by loschileros

You’re tired. It’s been a long day. You hate your job and your life. And you’re very, very hungry. You get home and open up the fridge door. And the refrigerator laughs. It laughs as if to say, “What did you expect? Something to eat?” Because the fridge is empty. Sure there’s a jar of olives – or are they pickles? And something that used to be lettuce back in the ‘50’s. But there’s nothing you can eat without risk of food poisoning.

So you can 1) give up and go to bed, 2) go out and go shopping (are you kidding?) or, 3) get creative. Let’s go for option 3. Scrounge around – and I mean properly scrounge around – and you’ll probably find something. We’re talking about what cookbooks call ‘store cupboard staples’. These are the dry goods you should – and I emphasize should – have on hand. Okay, you’re no Martha Stewart but you do keep something in those cabinets, don’t you?

Here’s a crisis (because that’s what this is) meal that you can probably whip up. All you need is pasta (spaghetti please), red chile flakes, garlic, and olive oil. And running water. And electricity or gas. You get the idea. The dish is Aglio e Olio – or Aio e Oio if you’re in Rome. It’s a classic example that the less you fuss about with food the better it tastes.

A couple of suggestions…sauté the garlic in a large sauté pan. Don’t drain the pasta but instead scoop it out and place in the pan with the garlic/olive oil/chile mixture. The small amount of water that clings to the pasta will make the dish taste better and richer. Add fresh parsley – if you’ve got it– and parmesan if you want (not traditional but tasty nonetheless). While you’re eating it, make out a grocery list. No more laughing refrigerators, promise?

Aglio e Olio

2 servings or 1 if you’re famished

Salt
½ pound spaghetti
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
½ tsp or more chile pepper flakes
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
grated parmesan (optional)

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add 1 Tbsp salt and the pasta. Cook according to the package directions until al dente (with a bit of bite and definitely not mushy).

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and gently sauté the garlic and the chile flakes in a large skillet. This will only take a minute or two. You do not want to brown the garlic or burn it. When the pasta is done, scoop it out of the water and place in the pan with the garlic, olive oil and chile flakes. Reduce the heat. Toss to coat the pasta until any excess water is absorbed (only a minute or two). Taste and add salt or more chile flakes, if desired. Stir in the parsley. Place in bowls and garnish with parmesan – if using.

Gobble, gobble burgers

Posted on April 4, 2013 by loschileros

Turkey burgers? Hmmmm….not so sure. I know, I know. I’m the guy who extolled the virtues of lamb burgers just a couple of weeks ago – but turkey? Here’s the problem. People like to talk about turkey as the “healthy” choice and say things like “replace your hamburger with turkey and you won’t even notice the difference.” It’s like a bait and switch operation where you take one food and try to make it taste like another.

Why can’t turkey just taste like turkey?

The answer is that ground turkey – nice and lean and lower calorie – can be pretty boring. I’ve been messing around with turkey burgers for a while and I know. You start out with this lean meat and you want to keep it moist so you add an egg but then the whole thing looks way too mushy so you add bread crumbs. You make them into patties, fry them up and suddenly you’ve got something that looks and tastes like a shot-put.

So what do you do? I figured out the key is to skip the bread crumbs. You don’t need them. They are not your friend. They make your turkey burgers heavy and dense. The other key is to add lots of seasoning – fresh herbs and chile are a must. Turkey can take it – honest. Now the burger mixture you’re going to get is soft – too soft to form into patties – but that’s okay. You’re going to scoop the mixture onto the hot pan, let it cook through (no medium rare here guys) and then serve it up with some creamy avocado.

I’ve added zucchini to the mixture too. No, this is not my way of sneaking in a vegetable on you. I’ve done it for one reason and one reason only – it tastes great.

Turkey Zuchini Burgers with Chile, Dill & Mint

I’m going to be honest with you. This mixture – pre-cooking – isn’t going to win any beauty contest. It’s a bit goopy but persevere because they taste great. Honest.

Serves 3-4

Turkey burgers
1 lb. ground turkey meat
1 zucchini, coarsely grated
3-4 scallions, finely chopped – about 3 ½ Tbsp
1 medium egg, lightly beaten
1 ½ Tbsp dill, finely chopped
1 ½ Tbsp mint, finely chopped
1 tsp cayenne
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Salt
Olive oil or vegetable oil for frying

Creamy avocado
1 avocado
1 Tbsp dill
1 Tbsp sour cream
Lime juice
Salt

In a large bowl, mix together all the burger ingredients thoroughly but avoid over mixing as it damages the texture of the turkey. Heat a frying pan and coat with a tablespoon or two of oil. When the pan is hot, place spoonfuls of the burger mixture onto the pan (about ¼ cup per burger). When browned, flip and continue cooking until cooked through. If you have time, test a small sample burger first, taste and adjust the chile and salt as needed.

While the burgers are cooking, make the Creamy avocado. In a small bowl, mash the avocado until fairly smooth. Stir in the dill and sour cream and a good squeeze or two of lime juice. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve on top of or along side the burgers.

Soup’s Up! Spicy Lentil and Frizzled Onions

Posted on March 26, 2013 by loschileros

I have a friend who tells a story. It was in the mid-70’s and she was living in Suburbia, USA. Her family was invited over to friends for dinner. When they asked the hostess what they could bring (“Flowers?” “A bottle of Blue Nun?”), they were told simply to bring a can of soup. So Campbell’s Black Bean soup in tow, they went over for dinner.

The kids were dispatched to the Rec Room to throw darts at the board and each other, while the adults got comfortable in the living room suite as the host uncorked a couple of bottles of Mateus. A few bites of celery piped with Cheez Whiz and dinner was served.

The hostess – in a particularly Stepford Wife-ish moment –proudly lifted the lid on a soup tureen and announced dinner was served – Friendship soup! Every can of soup that had been brought that night – chicken and stars, beef noodle and yes, black bean – had been dumped in a pot, heated up and served with pride.

My friend still wakes sometimes in the middle of the night screaming.

And this is how food nightmares start. I mean, poor soup. It’s not just 70’s travesties like Friendship Soup that give soup a bad name. Soup just sometimes sounds kind of boring, kind of last minute, kind of can’t-be-bothered.

But it shouldn’t be that way. Soup is warm (unless it’s cold) and comforting and kind of like a great dog – it loves you no matter what.

Now this soup is simple. It’s easy and you’ve probably got most/all of the ingredients in your cupboard right now and that’s a good thing. It serves 2-3 but double the recipe and pop the leftovers it in the freezer. But please, whatever you do, don’t mix it with it with chicken and stars.

Spicy Lentil Soup with Smoky Frizzled Onions

Serves 2-3

The secret to this soup is the smoky frizzled onions. You cook them super slowly until they’re nice and soft, then add some chipotle, crank up the heat to caramelize them and give them some color. Plop some on each serving along with a drizzle of sour cream and you’re in heaven.

Soup:
½ red onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ancho chile powder
¼ tsp cayenne powder
¼ tsp chipotle chile powder
1 ½ tsp cumin seeds, roughly ground
8 oz. red lentils, washed and any stones or dirt removed
3-4 cups water or stock
4 Tbsp tomato puree
1 15 oz. can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
Salt to season

Smoky frizzled onions:
1 ½ red onions
2 Tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp chipotle chile powder
Pinch salt

To serve:
Sour Cream
Chopped parsley or cilantro

To make the soup, sauté the onions in the olive oil in a covered saucepan over low heat until they’re soft. Add the spices and cook for a minute or two more until the mixture is aromatic. Add the red lentils and water. Once the lentils are tender, add the tomato puree and black eyed peas and check for seasoning. You can puree the soup or serve as is.

While the soup is cooking, make the frizzled onions. Slice the onions in half and then thinly into half moons. Sauté the onions in the olive oil in a covered saucepan over low heat until they’re soft. Remove the lid, stir in the chipotle chile and salt and increase the heat, stirring often to keep the onions from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. Continue to cook until they’re nicely caramelized and jammy.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with sour cream or Greek yoghurt and a dollop of the frizzled onions and parsley or cilantro.

Spicy Lamb Burgers

Posted on March 14, 2013 by loschileros

It used to be when you ordered a burger you knew what you were getting: ground beef on a bun, cheese (preferably highly processed and day-glo orange) optional. But things aren’t so simple any more. Now we’ve got buffalo burgers, venison, turkey, elk, salmon, veggie – even kangaroo – all taking on the burger mantle.

Is that a bad thing? Heck no. If some foodie fuddy-duddies want to get all purist about it, then let them. They can argue that the only real burger is a hamburger (funny, don’t remember any ham in a burger…). It doesn’t mean we have to follow suit.

Because the fact is, the alternatives are pretty darn tasty. I’ll talk turkey in a future post but for now let us turn our eyes and mouth to lamb. Lamb makes an awesome burger. It’s got a distinctive taste that handles frying (or grilling) beautifully and marries well with assertive spices. And at the Chile Trail, we love assertive.

You’re spoiled for choice when it comes to seasoning, but for this recipe, we’ve come up with a killer combo of Southwestern meets Middle Eastern. The resulting burgers are moist, full of flavor and disturbingly addictive. We make them small then serve them on a corn tortilla with roasted peppers, arugula and a dollop of hummus. But you know, go crazy – slap it on a flat bread or pita, put it on a bun, crumble some feta cheese on top. At the Chile Trail if it tastes great then it’s never wrong.

Spicy Lamb Burgers

Serves 3-4

I roast my own peppers because it’s so easy and the taste is awesome. I like to use long, mild peppers. Give them a rinse, then slice them into quarters lengthways. Remove the seeds and membrane. Toss in olive oil with some S&P and roast them in a hot oven. If you’re time pressed, go for a jar. I won’t tell.

1 lb. ground lamb
2 scallions, finely chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp coriander seed
1 tsp ancho chile powder
½ tsp cayenne or more to taste
½ tsp cinnamon
Salt

To accompany:
• Arugula
• Roasted red peppers
• Hummus
• Corn tortillas or flat bread

Grind the spices in a coffee grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Feel free to use already ground spices if you want but the flavor won’t be quite as intense and fresh. Add to the lamb along with the scallions and lemon zest. Mix gently – you don’t want to overwork the lamb. Shape into small patties – about the size of silver dollars.

Heat a frying pan and add the lamb patties being careful not to overcrowd. Cook the patties over medium heat for a few minutes on each side and serve hot with accompaniments.

Sugar and spice (and everything nice)

Posted on March 7, 2013 by loschileros

Desserts are a drag. There, I’ve said it. I’ve finally gotten off my chest what I’ve been thinking for years.

Don’t get me wrong – it’s not eating them that’s the problem (I wish). It’s making them. Most desserts – baked at least – require a level of precision and measuring that gives me a headache. Was that 1 cup of flour or 1-½? Was that baking soda or baking powder? And the problem is that you can’t shrug off your mistakes because in baking it matters. A lot.

So you’re having someone over for dinner. You can buy dessert and either a) try and pass it off as your own (and probably get caught and ritually humiliated), b) give baking a go and risk serving chocolate hockey puck for dessert, or c) make our Poached apricots with chile & pistachio.

What’s so hot about this recipe? First of all it’s delicious. The chile cooks in a sugar syrup with the apricots and becomes soft and chewy – like an adult spicy candy. The pistachios add crunch and the apricots are soft billowy bits of yumminess. The second reason is that it’s incredibly easy. You can do the whole thing the day before, pull out a container of Greek yogurt or vanilla ice cream and you’re done.

Voila! Your guests love you and no headache. Now that’s sweet.

Poached Apricots with Chile & Pistachios

Serves 4 to 6 for dessert

I love the combination of cinnamon and chile but I find cinnamon can be a bit aggressive so I take out the cinnamon stick about halfway through the cooking. That way you get the cinnamon flavor without it overwhelming the dish.

¾ pound dried apricots
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 New Mexico dried red chile
1 cinnamon stick

Greek yoghurt or vanilla ice cream to accompany

Place the apricots in a bowl and cover with water. Let stand for at least one hour but preferably overnight. After they have soaked, drain the apricots and set aside.

In a saucepan, combine the sugar and water and heat on the stove until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cinnamon stick, chile and drained apricots and cook over low heat for about 10-15 minutes, until the apricots are cooked through but not mushy. The sugar and water will have thickened to a nice syrup by this point. About halfway through cooking, taste the syrup and remove the cinnamon stick if desired.

Once the apricots are cooked, remove the pan from the heat and take out the chile. Slice the chile thinly and return to the apricot and sugar syrup mixture. Cool and serve with ice cream or Greek yogurt. Store any leftovers (yeah, right!) in a jar in the refrigerator.

Pancakes 2.0: Blue Corn Chile Cakes with all the toppings!

Posted on February 28, 2013 by loschileros

Pancakes and syrup. It’s one of those classic combinations like burger and fries, peanut butter and jelly and mac ‘n cheese. So what happens when you take away the syrup leaving that poor little ‘ole pancake all on its lonesome?

Hey, who said it had to be lonesome? I mean what is a pancake, anyway? It’s a round cake made from a batter. Make it paper-thin and it’s a crêpe in France. Germany’s got pfannkuchen (literally “pan” and “cake”). Make it with chickpea flour and you’ve got a socca. In the U.S. we’ve got hotcakes, griddlecakes, johnnycakes and flapjacks. And zip over to Russia – as you do – and you’ve got those cute little blinis just crying out for some caviar and a nice cold shot of vodka…but we digress.

The point is that pancakes are like blank canvases – you can put whatever you like on them. Heck, you can go one better – you can put whatever you like in them. And before you get all “but pancakes are for breakfast” just stop. Pancakes are breakfast, lunch and dinner.

And we’ll prove it. Our Blue Corn Chile Cakes are great 24/7. We’ve added grated zucchini and corn kernels to the batter but you could slip in sliced scallions and bits of sautéed shrimp. Try topping them with shredded chicken, salsa and a big dollop of guacamole. You can’t go wrong (okay you can but it’s pretty darn tough). And if you’ve got folks coming over for brunch, this is a natural.

Blue Corn Chile Cakes with Goat’s Cheese & Sun-blushed Tomatoes

Serves 3-4

You can use regular pancake mix for this recipe but you’ll miss out on that amazing blue corn crunch. If you do, you’ll need about 2 cups of batter for the recipe.

1½ cups Los Chileros blue corn waffle and pancake mix
1 tsp chipotle chile
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup coarsely grated zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)
1 cup corn kernels
¼ cup chopped cilantro or parsley
1-2 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

To garnish:
crumbled goat’s cheese
sun blushed tomatoes
pine nuts

In a bowl, mix together the pancake mix with the chipotle chile, egg and milk. Fold in the zucchini, corn and cilantro or parsley. Heat a skillet or frying pan and add a tablespoon of the oil. Pour about ¼ cup batter onto the skillet for each pancake. When the surface of the pancake begins to bubble slightly, flip and finish cooking. Keep the pancakes warm. Add more oil as needed and cook the remaining cakes.

Serve hot, topped with the goat’s cheese, sun blushed tomatoes and pine nuts.