Belizean Habanero Hot Sauce

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

After cooking and pureeing the sauce, stir in the habanero juice. The sauce is very smooth, very hot, and has a strong habanero flavor.

Ingredients

Carrots, Lime Juice, Vinegar, Habanero Juice

Instructions

In this recipe I never cooked the habaneros in order to preserve their distinctive flavor, so it was a perfect choice for our readers’ first experiment with juicing chiles. After cooking and pureeing the sauce, stir in the habanero juice. The final consistency of the sauce was very smooth, very hot, and had a strong habanero flavor.

  • 1 small onion, chopped

  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 1 cup chopped carrots

  • 1/4 cup lime juice, fresh preferred

  • 2 tablespoons distilled vinegar

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1/3 to ½ cup habanero juice

In a saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in the oil until soft. Add the carrots and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the carrots are soft.

Remove from the heat and transfer the mix to a blender or food processor. Add the lime juice, vinegar and salt, and puree until smooth. Add the habanero juice and mix well.

Store the hot sauce in a glass bottle.

Yield: 1½ cups

Heat Scale: Extremely Hot

Bloody Maria

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This is a “south of the border” Bloody Mary substituting tequila for the vodka. But if you are a purist, use the vodka or leave out the alcohol altogether and have a great morning wake-up drink. Adding the rocotos, rather than Tabasco, added flavor as well as warming the drink nicely. The heat came on slowly and lingered. This is one of the best uses for chile juice.

Ingredients

 

  • 8 ounces tomato juice

  • 2 ounces tequila

  • 1 teaspoon rocoto juice

  • ½ teaspoon lime juice

  • Dash Worcestershire sauce

  • Dash celery salt

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • Salt to taste

  • Garnish: Lime wedge

    • Instructions

    Combine all the ingredients in a pitcher and mix well. Fill a tall glass with ice, pour the juice over the ice, garnish with a lime wedge and serve.

     

    Blue Corn Chile Cheese Muffins!

    Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

    I like to use blue corn in this recipe because of its nutty taste. But if you don’t have blue corn available, substitute yellow cornmeal. They will still be just as good. Another tasty variation is to add crumbled bacon to the mix. Normally I use 4 chopped jalapenos but I substituted the jalapeno pulp for this experiment. Serve these in place of cornbread with barbecues, picnics, or even as a breakfast muffin.

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup all-purpose flour

    • 3/4 cup blue cornmeal

    • 1/3 cup sugar

    • 3 teaspoons baking powder

    • 3/4 teaspoons salt

    • 1 cup milk

    • 1 egg, beaten

    • ½ cup grated cheddar cheese

    • 3 tablespoon melted margarine

    • 1/4 cup jalapeño pulp

    Instructions

    Preheat an oven to 425°F.

    Sift all the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

    In another bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir to just mix them.

    Lightly oil a muffin pan and divide the batter evenly among 12 to 15 muffin cups, filling up each one about halfway. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

    Cool the muffins on a rack and serve them warm or at room temperature.

    Creamy Asparagus Rosemary Soup

    Dave DeWitt Leave a Comment

    I always make this soup in the spring when the fresh asparagus is plentiful. It does freeze well but the asparagus doesn’t, so I omit any garnish pieces of the vegetable when putting this soup up. Although a creamy soup, the texture is achieved by adding potato rather than cream (although I will sometimes add a dash before serving). I would normally add heat by throwing in some chiltepins when cooking, but the serrano juice worked well when added just before serving.

    Ingredients

    • 1 pound fresh asparagus, cut in pieces, reserving the tips

    • 1 large potato, peeled and chopped in small pieces

    • 1/4 cup chopped onions

    • 4 shallots, chopped

    • 2 cloves garlic, chopped

    • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

    • 1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme

    • 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

    • 1 quart chicken broth

    • Salt to taste

    • 1/4 cup cream or half and half, optional

    • 2 tablespoons serrano juice

    • Garnish: Rosemary leaves

    Instructions

    Combine the asparagus, potato, onions, shallots, garlic, rosemary, thyme, pepper, and broth in a stock pot or large saucepan. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until the vegetables are very soft.

    Remove the pot from the heat and put the contents in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Strain the mixture, through a sieve, back into the pot. Season with salt and add the asparagus tips.

    Simmer the soup for 5 to 6 minutes or until the tips are just done.

    Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the cream and serrano juice.

    Ladle the soup into a tureen or individual soup bowls, garnish with a few rosemary leaves and serve.

    Southwestern Chile Clam Chowder

    Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

    I usually add chopped green New Mexican chile to this recipe but since the only fresh green chile I could find were Anaheims that were too mild, I decided to use the juice from the serranos since I knew it was hot.

    Ingredients

    • 1 large potato, peeled and diced

    • 1/4 pound bacon, cut in ½-inch pieces

    • 1 cup diced onion

    • ½ cup diced celery

    • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

    • 1 bottle clam juice

    • 1 10-ounce can clams, drained, liquid reserved

    • 1 6-ounce can minced clams, drained, liquid reserved

    • 1 cup whole kernel corn

    • 1 tablespoon serrano juice

    • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme

    • 1 cup half and half

    • 1/4 cup dry sherry (optional)

    • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

    Instructions

    Pre-cook potatoes either in a saucepan or in the microwave almost soft. Drain.

    In a large stock pot or saucepan, cook the bacon over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until the fat is rendered, being careful the bacon doesn’t brown. Add the onion and celery and continue to saute until the vegetables are soft. If needed, add vegetable oil.

    Stir the flour into the vegetable mixture and continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly so that the roux doesn’t brown.

    Slowly stir in the clam juice, both bottled and reserved. Stir constantly to eliminate any lumps. Add 3 to 4 cups water, the potatoes, corn, serrano juice and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Simmer the soup for 15 minutes.

    Remove the soup from the heat, add the clams, and stir in the half and half and sherry. Ladle the soup into individual bowls, garnish with freshly ground black pepper and serve.