Green beans with red chile tomatoes & crispy onions

Posted on November 22, 2022 by loschileros

Is it just me or are stores cranking up the Christmas tunes around Halloween these days? “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!” No it isn’t. It’s not even Thanksgiving, although at least that holiday is days away. Note to self: buy a turkey. Speaking of which, why don’t we have Thanksgiving carols? “It’s beginning to look a lot like Thanksgiving!” Now that’s a tune you could belt out.

And then there is Black Friday…don’t even get me started…Bah humbug.

Green beans, chile roasted tomatoes and crispy onions. What’s not to like?

I love Christmas as much as the next die-hard Scrooge. I even gave someone a Christmas present back in ’72. It was a tie. But I digress. I’d simply like to celebrate one holiday at a time. I’d like to enjoy New Year’s without feeling like I had to buy a Valentine’s card. Or celebrate Valentine’s Day without feeling like I need to stock up on Easter candy. Do you know what I mean?

On principle, I almost didn’t share this green bean recipe. Why you ask? Is it not delicious? Oh, yes it is. Is it not an excuse to open up a can of crispy onions, eat half of them while no one is looking, sprinkle the rest on the beans and then hide the can so no one knows your dirty little secret? Oh, yes it is.

It’s simply because it’s red and green. There, I said it. It shouts Christmas when all I’m thinking about is how can I wedge a 25-pound turkey, sweet potato casserole and dressing all into the oven at the same time. When I’m wondering why I invited Aunt Rose (again). And how many naps I can fit in post-Thanksgiving meal stupor. These are the things on my mind — not Christmas carols. I’ll deal with that later. Right after Black Friday.

Posole spice blend? Are you mad? Perhaps, but it’s just the ticket to spice up your green beans.

2 cups cherry tomatoes

3 Tbsp olive oil plus a splash more for the green beans

Scant 1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp. New Mexico red chile (Chile Molido)

1 lb. green beans, tops removed

1 Tbsp. Posole spice blend

Store-bought crispy onions — as many as you want, go ahead it’s Thanksgiving!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the red chile tomatoes, wash the tomatoes and slice them in half. Pour half the olive oil in the bottom of a casserole dish that is large enough to hold the tomatoes in one layer. Place the tomatoes cut side up in the dish and drizzle the rest of the oil on top. Dust with the salt and red chile powder and place in the oven and cook for around 1 1/2 hours — until the tomatoes have shrunken but are still soft and jammy. You can make these ahead of time and store in a container in the fridge.

When you’re ready to get the show on the road, wash the beans, trim the top (stem end). Bring a large pot filled with water to a boil. Add the posole mix and let it boil happily for a few minutes. Add the beans and cook until just tender. This is not the time to go and make a Tik Tok video. Drain the beans and posole spice mix in a fine mesh strainer so you don’t lose any of the chile goodness.

Toss the beans in a bit of olive oil, top with the tomatoes and sprinkle some of the crispy onions on top. And be generous. It is a holiday after all.

Spiced Butternut Squash & Bean Soup

Posted on December 3, 2021 by loschileros

‘Tis the season for multi-tasking madness! Yes, it’s the time of year to over extend yourself and your credit card. Commit to far too much. Eat and drink yourself silly. Send holiday greetings to friends you haven’t seen or spoken to since you sent them a card last year. Ask yourself why stores insist on playing Christmas music months in advance. Buy your nearest and dearest something they’ll dislike and discard. Then collapse and promise you’ll never do this again.

Or you could turn your phone onto silent. Channel your inner Scrooge. No Christmas cards. No Christmas sweaters. Scowl at those cute carollers who come to your door. Then slip into the kitchen and make yourself a restorative pot of soup.

Accompany said soup with a hefty wedge of bread, some really good butter and a good book. The book, I might add is to read, not eat. Although if you enjoy reading you’re a voracious reader who devours books so maybe you do ‘eat’ them up. I digress…Perhaps something to listen to (not Mariah Carey singing ‘All I Want for Christmas’ for heavens sake). Something classy like Elvis.

Breathe deep and sigh. Do feel smug if this feels appropriate. For soup, you’re spoiled for choice. At our Scrooge Grotto this year, we’ll be serving a Spiced Butternut Squash & Bean Soup. It’s packed full of health-giving goodness (yawn) and is easy to make. Do share with someone if you must or store the rest in the freezer for a cold winter’s day.

Spiced Butternut Squash & Bean Soup

Serves 4

1 butternut Squash, around 1.5-2 lbs.

14 oz. can of beans (garbanzo, black eyed peas, you get the idea)

A hefty handful of cavolo nero (black cabbage), kale or spinach

3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 New Mexico red chile pod

1 1/2 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. ancho chile powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

Heat the oil in a medium-large saucepan over low heat. Saute the onion slowly until soft and translucent. Don’t rush this step folks. While the onion is cooking, peel the squash, slice in half, remove the seeds (you can save them to roast if you’re feeling energetic) and chop into 1/2″ dice.

Add the garlic to the softened onion, saute for another minute then add the spices, including the chile pod. Stir to coat and cook for a minute or two to bring out the flavours of the spices. Add the diced butternut squash and stir to coat. Cook for a few minutes then add the stock. Increase the heat to medium (it should be at a low simmer). Cook until the squash is tender — this won’t take long, perhaps 15 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, wash your greens. If using kale or cavolo nero, strip the leaves from the woody stems and chop. If using spinach, take a break, check your Instagram ‘likes’ and then get back to work.

When the squash is cooked, drain and rinse the beans, add them to the soup along with the greens. Stir, taste and add salt and more chile if desired. Remove the chile pod and serve.

Sun-dried tomato, walnut and chipotle chile paste

Posted on November 30, 2018 by loschileros

Congratulations. You did it. You survived Thanksgiving and aunt Vera’s creamed onions. You sat through endless bowl games and bowls of food. No one died of food poisoning and no blood was spilt over the scrabble board. All in all, I’d call that a success.

Now you’ve only got Christmas and New Year’s before you can crawl off into your man/woman/person cave and hibernate until Spring. Imagine all those seconds of stuffing and turkey and gravy providing you with the perfect padding to keep you going until the daffodils are in bloom. Go ahead, eat that extra slice of pie because you’re going to need it.

Oh, if only we were more bears. Wouldn’t hibernation be a great solution for short days and long nights? But alas, you’ve got the day job. And the kids and the bowling team (whose idea was that?). So snap out of it. At best, you can sneak in some mini weekend hibernations – aka naps. Close the doors, ignore your phone and be a solitary curmudgeon for half an hour.

Of course you must keep your strength up, so whip up a batch of sun-dried tomato, walnut and chipotle chile paste. Slather it on a slice of bread or spoon it onto a baked potato. Heck, eat it out of the jar as far as we’re concerned. Before you know it, spring will be here. You’ll search for your sunglasses and put the snow shovel away. You’ll stretch, smile and realize there’s suddenly more than 2 hours of daylight. You’ll look in the mirror and your smile will fade, as you ask yourself why you ate those last five slices of pie.

Sun-dried tomato, walnut & chipotle chile paste

3 oz sun-dried tomatoes

2 oz walnuts (or other nut)

1 lemon, finely zested

1 whole chipotle chile

½ clove garlic.

4 oz olive oil

Place the chipotle chile in a small bowl and cover with almost boiling water. Allow it to sit and hydrate for 10-15 minutes. When it’s softened, remove it from the water, slice it open and remove the seeds. Coarsely chop.

Toast the nuts in a frying pan or in the oven until lightly golden. Watch them like a hawk though, as they’ll quickly burn if you’re not alert.

Coarsely chop the sun-dried tomatoes and walnuts. Place them in the small bowl of a food processor or mini blender. Add the lemon zest, garlic, chopped chipotle chile and about 1/3 of the oil. Blitz. Stop and stir and then add the remaining oil so you have a thick, spoonable paste.

Store in a jar and cover with olive oil.

Venison chile stew with winter vegetables

Posted on December 6, 2017 by loschileros

Whoever created the endless Christmas soundtrack you hear every time you walk into a shop post-Halloween, has a lot to answer for. Bing, Frank, Nat and Co. must literally be rolling in their graves as the holiday season approaches. And spare a thought for the shop staff who are subjected to this torture every day. Surely the UN Human Rights Convention has something to say about this?

Yes, we know the weather outside is frightful. Yes, we know the fire is so delightful. So go ahead and snow already. And don’t even get me started on Frosty…

The only solution is to tune out and hunker down. Close the curtains and stoke the fire. Rustle up something hearty and warming to ease your way through a day that’s more dark than light. Find the advent calendar tucked in a box in the attic. Deck the halls – okay, forget that last one but you get what I mean.

It’s the perfect season for a stew laced with chile and winter vegetables. The great thing about this dish – and trust me, there is a long list – is that the longer it cooks, the better it tastes. I’ve used venison here but you could substitute beef or pork. The red wine creates a rich sauce that hugs the meat like a warm embrace.

Winter vegetables? Potatoes, carrots and turnips – baby ones if you can find them – are a natural but you could use parsnips, hard squashes or leeks too. This makes a big enough batch for a spot of pre-holiday entertaining or you can freeze the leftovers to tide you over during the long nights ahead.

Serve with a glass of red wine, a salad with a tart, mustardy dressing and silence. Sounds like heaven, doesn’t it?

Venison chile stew with winter vegetables

Serves 4-6

2 lbs. diced venison

1 red onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

½ cup flour, seasoned with salt & pepper

½ cup tomato puree

½ bottle red wine

1 Chile Mulato

1 Chile Negro

7oz baby turnips

10oz carrots (about 4 medium)

10oz small potatoes (about 15 or 16)

Olive oil

Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 250º

Gently sauté the onion in olive oil in a deep, heavy, oven proof casserole dish until the onion is soft but not brown. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute or two. Remove from the casserole and set aside. Dredge the venison in the flour and brown in olive oil in the casserole. Don’t overcrowd the pan – you’ll need to do this three or four batches depending on the size of the pan. When you’ve browned all the venison, deglaze the pan with some of the red wine, scrapping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.

Add back in the onions, garlic, and browned venison. Stir in the tomato puree and more wine until the meat is just covered. Add in the two dried chiles, cover and place in the oven and cook for 3 hours or more, until the venison is tender.

While the venison is cooking, prep the vegetables. Peel the carrots and slice on an angle into chunks. Scrub the potatoes and the turnips. Either steam or blanch the vegetables until just cooked through.

Take the casserole from the oven and remove the two dried chiles. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning. The chile should be warming but mellow but of course add in additional chile powder if you want more of a hit. The sauce should be thick and coat the meat. If not, strain out the meat and reduce the sauce on the stove top. Add in the vegetables and stir to coat with the red wine sauce and serve with any baby turnip leaves, chopped.

Have yourself a very chile Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2013 by loschileros

Is it just me or does it feel like Thanksgiving was just last week? Now here we are with Christmas looming over us and New Year’s lurking around the corner.

If you’ve dared venture into the supermarket you can sense the siege mentality as people stock up like they’re getting ready for another Hundred Years War. To-do lists spawn secondary to-do lists and scribbled notes get shoved in coat pockets as we try to remember if we were supposed to pick up single cream, heavy, double, whipped or some other milk-based product.

At moments like this it’s important to breathe and remember if all else fails you can probably find a gas station open on Christmas Day selling microwave bean burritos. Okay, it’s not much consolation but it’s something. So, for what’s it’s worth, here are some tips/suggestion/ideas to help you navigate the holidays.

Eat more chile. Not just because it tastes great (natch) but because chile is said to help your body fight colds and let’s be honest – ‘tis the season. It’s also a great source of vitamin C.
If you’re cooking a turkey, consider a chile spice rub. Ease the skin away from the meat (gently so it doesn’t tear) and rub in a mix of chile powder, salt and softened butter. Ease the skin back and rub a bit more butter on top. If you can, do this the night before so it has a chance to soak up all that chile goodness. Yum.
Cranberries. Have you noticed how you make them and then – surprise – no one eats them. This year, place the whole berries with the zest and juice of an orange with a whole dried chile and sugar to taste. Cook until the berries start to burst. Remove from the heat and puree the chile (with or without seeds) with some of the berries then add back to the rest of the berries and stir. Very good and very spicy.
Remember the chile cornbread stuffing from Thanksgiving? It tastes just as good at Christmas.
Chile Bloody Marys are an important tool to help you put up with your in-laws. Think of them as medicine.
Avoid wearing Christmas sweaters. This has nothing to do with chile but it will prevent someone publishing embarrassing photos of you on Facebook.

So get going. It’s time to celebrate. See you in 2014.

Ho Ho Humbug

Posted on December 12, 2013 by loschileros

As soon as the words are out of your mouth you want to take them back. “Pop over for a drink during the holidays.” Are you out of your mind? What were you thinking? Pop over??? That basically means: 1) come over anytime, 2) stay for as long as you want, and 3) I’ll make sure there’s plenty to eat and drink. Big mistake.

Picture the scene…you’re watching your favorite shopping channel, just about to order that 44-piece kitchen knife set (only $29.95 and if you order in the next :30 seconds they’ll throw in a set of steak knives FREE!) when ding-dong goes the doorbell. And it’s Bob from Accounting, his kids and that lovely wife of his. So you hide your bag of cheetos, turn off the TV and hope they like your reindeer pj’s.

Now of course, if you’ve planned ahead – stashed a case or two of wine and made some nibbles, it’s really no big deal. I make a batch of Chile Logs and keep them in the fridge, ready for Bob. They’re chile-cheesy and you do want to eat more and more of them. Start with a mix of cream cheese and cheddar cheese and then hot it up with some chile powder and dust with more chile powder (cuz you can’t ever get enough chile) and sprinkle with some nuts (totally optional but definitely good eating).

And if I’m really smart (50-50 chance on that one) I make an extra batch so I can bring some along when I “pop over” to see friends. If I swing by your place this season and you’re in the middle of a big shopping channel order then not to worry. Take your time answering the doorbell. I know that steak knife freebie won’t last forever.

Chile Cheese Logs

I’d like to make this sound incredibly difficult to make but it’s not. It’s kind of ‘Mad Men’ food – you could even serve it with triscuits for a really retro feel. I like to make it in a food processor because it’s easier and less messy but you decide. The logs definitely improve with age so keep in the fridge for a day or two before serving. I made one with a dusting of chipotle and New Mexico and one with the addition of toasted pine nuts – but create your own combos.

Makes two logs; serves approximately 6-10 people

12 oz white cheddar cheese, medium grated
3 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp salt
1 tsp Chile Molido hot
½ tsp Child Molido mild

Additional chile powder for rolling (I used a combination of Chipotle and Child Molido)

Toasted pine nuts (or chopped walnuts, pecans or sliced almonds would be good too).

Combine the first six ingredients, divide into two and shape into two logs. Roll the logs in the additional chile powder to coat and then roll in toasted pine nuts if using (make sure the nuts have cooled first). Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least a day – preferably 2 or 3 – before serving with crackers or bread. Any leftovers are great spread on toast or in sandwiches.

Christmas Chile—Red and/or Green?

Posted on December 20, 2012 by loschileros

In New Mexico we’re not that interested in what you do for work. Or if you’re married, single, all-of-the-above, none-of-the-above, or other. The question we’re burning to ask is: Red? Green? Or Christmas? It’s a question that makes for some fiery – excuse the phrase – debates around the dinner table.

Some peacemakers will say there’s no right or wrong answer. There are folks who like red chile, folks who like green and heck, some people like Christmas – a bit of both.

But not everyone is so kumbaya calm. You hear grumblings. They’ll say that people who like Christmas can’t make up their minds. They dither. Vacillate. They’re fence sitters. Others think that Christmas lovers are just gluttons. They want it all and now. They can’t imagine making it through one meal without red and green – so they get ‘em both.

But in this Christmas season is there perhaps a kinder, gentler way to look at the great chile question? I turned to all-knowing, all-consuming Chef Johnny Vee to get his take. “I love that we associate red and green with Christmas so it’s a perfect fit for our state question…Red or Green?”

But surely there’s a right answer and a wrong answer, isn’t there? “I’m like Santa,” said Chef Johnny, who come to think of it does bear an incredible likeness to St. Nick. “I love both especially at this time a year…not on everything but snuck in here and there…warms us up in winter!”

Have you got a favorite? Let us know. In the meantime, remember that blessed are the peacemakers, so here’s a handy recipe for Christmas Chile Corn Bread.

Christmas Chile Cornbread

This is good – very good. Great with a bowl of soup or hearty stew. Yummy alongside a plate of scrambled eggs and it makes a mean stuffing. This is pretty mild but with a bit of a kick. Just ramp up the salsa mix if you want something spicier.

CORNBREAD

Makes about 10-12 servings

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup sugar
2 eggs
½ cup sour cream or crème fraiche
1 ¾ cup whole milk
½ Tbsp Los Chileros Christmas Salsa Mix (or more to taste)
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp baking powder
¼ cup corn, canned or frozen
¼ pine nuts (optional but very tasty)
1 cup shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat the oven to 400˚ F and grease an 8×12” baking dish.

Pour the milk into a measuring cup and add the Christmas salsa mix, giving it a good stir. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar together then add the eggs and sour cream or crème fraiche and mix until well blended. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder together then stir in the corn meal. Add the milk and dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg/sour cream mix, alternating between dry and milk. Mix in the corn, nuts and cheese.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the top is brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool before serving if you can bear to wait.