James Silverton wrote:
> On 1/24/2013 9:46 AM, zxcvbob wrote:
>> James Silverton wrote:
>>> I tried a recipe for chilli the other day that used some tomatilloes
>>> but not much in the way of spices beyond prepared chilli powder and
>>> cumin It was rather blah even with the addition of a little Tabasco.
>>> I had made enough for two meals and I cooked the second for half an
>>> hour more with some oregano, coriander and ancho chile. I not have
>>> anchos available the previous day but the second attempt was rather
>>> good.
>>>
>>
>>
>> No idea why the original recipe had tomatillos. :-P I guess the
>> author thought they sounded more Mexicany than tomatoes.
>>
>> The essential ingredient is dried red chile peppers, and milder ones
>> work better than the really hot ones. I like to use a mixture of
>> guajillo and ancho peppers. Remove the stems and seeds, soak what's
>> left in hot water until they are soft, then blenderize them with the
>> soaking water to make a paste and strain out the skins and stray
>> seeds. The resulting brick-red thin paste is your base. Add meat,
>> onions, garlic, broth, etc, and simmer about an hour. Spices to use
>> are cumin and oregano and maybe a little black pepper, but go easy on
>> them because they can overpower the chili.
>>
>> HTH,
>> Bob
>>
> The recipe had more tomatoes than tomatilloes. Tomtilloes give an
> interesting acid taste and a number of chile recipes try for the same
> thing by adding vinegar. The only recipes without tomatoes that I have
> tried are for chile verde and I'm not impressed by them.
>
> I like the idea of soaking and blending the peppers and I'll try it next
> time. Do you think that broth is needed?
>

Bouillon is good enough, but if you have some pork broth definitely use
that (simmer a country style rib or pork chop or 2 until they falls
apart, use the broth in your chili and save the boiled meat for
something else.)

I sometimes add a can of tomatoes, sometimes leave them out. The
tomatoes are more of an extender than anything else -- like beans but
less contentious

Bob