I didn't know I could hit such high notes! I wasn't singing. I was screaming.
This year's crop of De Arbol chiles is insanely hot. The seeds come from Jalisco and have been grown in California by one of of our bean farmers since the 1970s.
After chopping off the stems and casually shaking out as many seeds as possible, I pan roasted the chiles for a few minutes on a clay comal. I heard my children coughing and sneezing in the next room and I shrugged, thinking they were such delicate little creatures, until I took a deep breath myself. Why hadn't I opened the windows and turned on the fan?
I also roasted two cloves of garlic and two spoonfuls of Mexican oregano. I blended all this with about half a cup of water, salt and three splashes of fruit vinegar and blended well.
Listen, I've got nothing to prove when it comes to heat. I like it hot as long as it's flavorful. This tasted great but goodness, it was searing. I added a little more vinegar and it was painful, but in a good way. Normally De Arbol chiles are hot but this is like something else. I can't wait for more.
I have a bunch of these peppers from you and I’ll try this soon–and use some pineapple vinegar that I hope to make this weekend as the “fruit vinegar”–Glad I read the part abut opening a window!
Note: I made Portuguese Bean Soup, a favorite here, and just like Italian gravy, everyone has a different “best” recipe; I used your lovely Yellow Eye beans and the combo of their broth and the ham hocks broth was unbelievable as a base for this dish. Have you ever made it? There’s of course hundreds of recipes but most have basically the same ingredients–esy to tweak and make your own. Aloha, Steve!