green chile fruit cake

Green Chile Fruitcake

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Before you go on to another recipe, stop and give this a try! This is not the famed “traveling fruitcake” recipe—the the mythical fruitcake that never spoils and is never eaten! Nope, this is a green chile fruit cake, new and improved, and sassier than ever. Read more great spicy cake recipes by Dave DeWitt here.

Ingredients

3 cups chopped pecans (about 12 ounces)
2 cups chopped candied pineapple (about 10 ounces)
3/4 cup chopped dried mangos
1/3 cup chopped candied orange peel (about 1 1/2 ounces)
1 3/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
1/2 cup green chile, roasted, peeled, stems and seeds removed, chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon banana extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
Powdered sugar

Instructions

Position the oven rack in lowest third of oven, and preheat to 250 degrees F. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan.

In a large bowl, mix the pecans and fruits with 3 tablespoons flour. In another large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Stir in the green chile, vanilla, lemon and banana extracts. Sift the 1 3/4 cups flour with the baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and stir until blended. Mix the fruit mixture into batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake until it turns golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 2 1/2 hours. Cool in the pan on a rack for about 15 minutes. When the 15 minutes is up, turn it out onto the rack to cool. Dust with powdered sugar.

Vibrant-Vegetable-Stock

Vibrant Vegetable Stock

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

This stock is good enough to serve as a first course consommé, in addition to using it as a basis for some of the recipes that follow. Baking or caramelizing the vegetables before adding the water gives an additional richness to the stock. If you wish, adding a 1 to 2 inch piece of kombu seaweed will also add a further depth of flavor. This stock will keep for 2 days, covered, in the refrigerator. It can also be frozen; divide it into 2- or 3-cup freezer containers. Feel free to add any vegetable trimmings from the bag in your freezer, but beware of cabbage or broccoli, whose flavors tend to dominate the stock.

Read Dave DeWitt’s article on Veggie Soups for Spring here.

Ingredients

4 onions, not peeled, cut into eighths
3 large ribs celery, cut into fourths
2 leeks, white part only
1 head garlic
4 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
2 tablespoons high quality olive oil
3 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup chopped New Mexican green chiles, or more to taste
1/3 cup chopped parsley, including the stems
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil or 2 tablespoons of dried basil
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 cup chopped button mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped celery leaves
1 zucchini, peeled and sliced
3 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes
3 quarts cold water
5 whole black peppercorns

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the onions, celery, leeks, garlic, and carrots in a shallow pan and pour the wine over the top. Bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours.

Heat the oil in a pot and add the caramelized vegetables and the green onions and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining ingredients (except the water and peppercorns) and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the cold water and the peppercorns and bring the mixture to a boil. Then lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 2 hours. Remove the cover and simmer for another 30 minutes. Strain the stock through a fine strainer lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter and salt to taste.