Unveiling the Ancho Chile

• Ancho chiles are smoked poblano peppers that are used in Southwest and Latin cuisine. The poblanos are picked at the peak of ripeness and dried or roasted. The pepper looks like a large dried cherry and has the color of raisins. When reconstituted with water, it has a sweet, fruity flavor.

Making the Cream

• You can easily make your own ancho chile cream with fresh, ripe poblanos. Just roast the poblanos in the oven or on the grill. A bit of char on the outside only adds to the flavor. You can also buy poblanos dried or reconstituted in oil at a grocery store. Open the peppers and make sure the seeds are out of them. Puree them and place the puree in unsweetened whipping cream or heavy cream. Add honey for sweetness and vinegar for tang.

Uses for the Cream

• Ancho chile cream sauce has as many uses as you can think up. It is often used on meats such as rib-eye steaks and chicken and on shellfish such as mussels. The sauce can be tossed with pasta, with shellfish, beef or poultry added to the dish for another dimension of flavor. Ancho chile cream is used as a condiment for soups or a sauce substitute for traditional Mexican dishes like enchiladas.

Considerations

• Look at the shape and color of the pepper and not the name on the label. Sometimes the short, squat poblano is mistaken for the longer pasilla pepper. Pasillas do not make a good ancho chile cream, despite their resemblance to the poblano. When making the cream sauce with fresh peppers, do not forget to remove the seeds inside before cooking.