Has anyone made the "Essential Chipotle Salsa" from Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen?

Live_to_cook · #1 07-03-2002, 09:21 AM

So you fry 50 chipotle moritas in oil, then dunk them in a sugar solution, then puree them with roasted garlic and saute the paste for 20 mins. or so.

But the recipe (from this unusually good book) does not say whether the chiles should be seeded or not. I just made this stuff and by golly it's hot. Not unbearably so, but enough to make me wonder if I screwed up.

I just wondered: When Bayless says "stem" the chiles before frying, am I to take that to remove the seeds too?

Other chile recipes that he includes (Essential Ancho Paste, etc.) do specify seed removal. Thoughts?

Kimmie · #2 07-03-2002, 04:21 PM

I haven't done this specific recipe but I would seed them, IMHO.

Live_to_cook · #3 07-03-2002, 06:20 PM

I ended up taking the finished product back out of the jar and pushing it through a sieve. Lost 30-40% in volume but it's worth it. Getting jalapeno seeds stuck in your teeth tends to distract.

Next time I'll add an extra half-cup of water at the puree stage and seed it then. It'll be a bit easier when it's thinner, before it reduces and cooks in the frying pan.

Made a pan of black beans with it, and I can testify: it's worth the trouble. Tomorrow for the 4th: grilled shrimp with chipotle salsa.

marinecorps98 · #4 07-04-2002, 03:29 AM

I know Rick likes to make his dishes rustic and hearty. I would say he means to leave them in. I wouldn't though, too hot. He does have a website you may be able to contact somone for sure. www.frontera I don't remember the rest of the address, sorry. see what frontera brings up with rick bayless. I was wondering if he is still on the air?

Pete · #5 07-04-2002, 08:58 AM

I have found Rick's books to be very well edited, so I imagine that if he wanted the peppers seeded in the recipe, it would have said so, though there is always the possibility of a screw up in editing. Personally, I think it is all in personal preference, and the level of heat that you enjoy. Having worked with many hispanics in Chicago, I have eaten much of the food they prepare at home (they love to bring in lunch at the catering shop and share with all of us). I have found that some of the women remove seeds from the chiles and some don't, even for the same dishes, so it really is a matter of preference for most dishes, especially the more rustic, rural dishes. In the more refined foods of the rich or urban areas, seeds would be removed out of an asthetic reason.

marmalady · #6 07-05-2002, 07:26 AM

I agree with everyone else - if he had wanted to have the chiles seeded, the notes would have stated it. Having worked with Rick, I know he has a cast-iron tongue!

Remember also, that all the chiles can have different levels of heat, depending on when they were harvested, the conditions during the growing season, etc.

Sometimes I soften just one chile, and then taste it before I start the recipe; then I can sort of gauge the amount of heat that batch of chiles has, and adjust accordingly.

I've even found different levels of heat in the canned chipotles in adobo!

The shrimp with chipotle salsa is out of this world!!!!