Green Hatch Chile Hot Sauce

Most people know that I love hot sauce.  If one were to open my refrigerator, he or she would find at least four different hot sauces in there.  Walk a few feet to the cupboard, and he or she would find another two or three hot sauces on the bench.  At one point in time, I went through a 5 fluid ounce bottle of Tabasco sauce every several days.  

Given my love for hot sauce, I have always wanted to make my own.  I have looked through many different recipes, using a wide range of peppers.  However, I never made any of them.  As much as I wanted to make hot sauce, there was always something else that I ended up making.  I needed something to get me to do it.

That "something" was a bunch of fresh Hatch chiles. I bought a bag of those chiles at a local grocery store.  My intent was to grill the chiles or roast them, serving them as a side.  However, there were a lot of chiles in that bag.  As time went by, I decided I had to do something with those chiles. Given the Hatch chile is my favorite chile, I decided to make that hot sauce. 

The only question is what type of hot sauce to make.  Given my love of Tabasco sauce, I decided that I would make a more vinegar-forward sauce.  I went back through those hot sauce recipes and found a good recipe at This Mess is Ours.  

The Hatch chiles that I had were not very spicy, so I was looking at making a very mild hot sauce.  I could have easily slipped in a habanero or scotch bonnet pepper, and, no one would be the wiser.  I have to admit the thought crossed my mind.  

In the end, I wanted to make a pure Hatch chile hot sauce.  Three ingredients - the chiles, distilled white vinegar, and Kosher salt.  As pure of a hatch chile hot sauce as one can get. 

I don't regret that decision. Although the sauce is very mild in my opinion (as most of the hot sauces I have tend toward extra hot), it was a great first effort.  

GREEN HATCH CHILE HOT SAUCE

Recipe from This Mess is Ours

Ingredients

1 pound of fresh Hatch chiles

1 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar

2 tablespoons of Kosher salt

Directions:

1.  Prepare the chiles.  Rinse the chiles and dry them.  Slice off the stems of the chiles. 

2. Puree the chiles.  Place the chiles in a food processor with the Kosher salt.  Puree the chiles until a coarse puree is created. 

3.  Slightly ferment the chiles.  Transfer the chile puree to a glass jar with the lid loosely screwed on.  Let sit at room temperature for 12 hours to allow for a little fermentation.

4. Continue the fermentation.  Add the vinegar, stir the contents, and loosely screw the lid on again.  Allow the mixture to stand at room temperature for at least 24 hours but up to 7 days.

5.  Puree the mixture.  Add the contents to a food processor, process until the mixture is smooth.  

6.  Strain the mixture.  Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, using a spatula to make sure that all of the liquids are extracted from the mixture.  

7.  Finish the hot sauce.  Bottle the liquid and refrigerate for up to four months.

ENJOY!

Keralan Duck Curry

According to Food & Wine, duck is a staple in the backwaters of Kerala.  Those backwaters are a region of the Indian State that are cut by intricate canals and dotted by lakes, which draw the attention of ducks.  I found a recipe for Keralan Duck Curry at Food & Wine, which was contributed by Aniamma Phillip, who uses a whole duck for the dish.  The recipe was modified for the use of duck breasts and it just so happens that the local grocery store has been carrying duck breasts lately.  So, it seemed natural that I should make this dish.

The recipe also calls for the use of fresh or frozen curry leaves, which the grocery store did not carry.  I was only making 1/3 of the recipe, which would require two curry leaves.  While I could have made a second stop to pick up two leaves, I was very hungry and decided that I would make the recipe without the leaves.  However, I did include the leaves in the recipe and when I make this dish for guests, I will use curry leaves.

And, I know that I will make this dish for guests because I really like this recipe.  It provides just the right amount of spice and heat in a curry sauce that coats and clings to the duck breasts.  This is important because it ensures that practically every bite of the duck includes the delicious flavors of turmeric, cardamom, chiles and ginger.   

KERALAN DUCK CURRY

Recipe by Aniamma Philip and 

available at Food & Wine

Serves 6

Ingredients:

6 skinless boneless Peking Duck breast halves

1 teaspoon of turmeric

2 teaspoons of kosher salt

Seeds from 6 cardamom pods

6 whole cloves

1 teaspoon of whole black peppercorns

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

3 medium red potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch slices

6 fresh curry leaves 

6 garlic cloves, smashed

4 long, hot green chiles, seeded and thinly sliced crosswise

One 1 1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and julienned

1 medium red onion, sliced thinly

1 14 ounce can of unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 cup water

Directions:

1.  Prepare the duck breasts.   In a small bowl, mix 1/2 teaspoon of the turmeric with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and rub over the duck breasts.  Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2.  Prepare the spice mix.  Meanwhile, in a spice grinder, grind the cardamom seeds, cloves and peppercorns to a powder.  Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric.

3.  Begin preparing the curry.   In a large, deep skillet, heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil.  Add the duck breasts and cook over high heat until browned, about 2 minutes per side.  Transfer the breasts to a large plate.  In the same skillet, cook the curry leaves over moderate heat for 2 minutes.  Add the garlic, chiles and ginger.  Cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the onion and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the spice powder and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 3 minutes.  Return the duck to the skillet along with any accumulated juices, cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, turning the breasts a few times.  Return the duck breasts to the plate. 

4.  Continue cooking the curry. Open the coconut milk and spoon 1/4 cup of the thickened milk from the top and set aside.  Put the remaining coconut milk in a bowl and stir in the water.  Add the thinned coconut coconut milk to the skillet and simmer over moderately high heat for 10 minutes.  Reduce the heat to moderate.  Add the fried potato slices and simmer for 1 minute.  Add the duck breasts and simmer for 8 minutes, turning once.  Stir in the thickened coconut milk and simmer over low heat for 3 minutes.  Season with salt. Transfer the duck breasts to plates and spoon the potatoes and sauce around the duck and serve.

Just a note about the coconut milk.  Do not shake the can of coconut milk before opening to make sure that the thickened milk stays on top.  If cooking with homogenized coconut milk, add the entire can plus 1/2 cup of water.

PAIRING THIS RECIPE

Food & Wine suggests that an oaky red would overpower the complex flavors of the dish.  For that reason, the suggestion is a light bodied, berry-rich wine such as a California or Oregon Pinot Noir.  I decided upon a Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles, which is very berry-rich with smooth tannins, making it a good wine to go with this dish.  

ENJOY!