A visiting chef friend asked me to pick up three pounds of manzano chiles for a demo he was doing. These chiles are also known as peron and sometimes rocoto chiles. Many of the Mexican families here in Napa come from Michoacan and Jalisco and for them, and now for me, this is a manzano chile. Things happened and I ended up three pounds of chiles. I shared most of them with the staff here but I took a pound home for myself.
I used a mandoline to cut the chiles and an onion razor thin. Then I added some salt, Oregano Indio and best of all, our Banana Vinegar.
Traditionally, you’d probably use lime but our vinegar was what I had and our vinegar is what was used. It was great.
Sunday supper was lazy. I got carnitas from the Mexican butcher, good tortillas and this relish. Later, it found its way on to a quesadilla.
Sometimes manzanos can be painfully hot but they have a great, meaty fresh taste and they’re just delicious. The seeds are nasty, but very easy to clean.
If you spy these chiles, go for it.
My wife brought these home one time…I had asked for habaneros LOL). But what an awesome mistake it turned out to be! Pretty much did the same as you did. The relish was awesome on tacos and on pulled pork sandwiches. I will definitely get them again!
More than almost any chile though, they really vary in heat. Sometimes they can be comparable to a habanero. It hurts, but I like it.
I have grown these “tree chili plants” outside in the Denver area and had to bring the pots indoors due to a very long fruiting period. They can tolerate cold weather but not hard freezes and grow at altitude in South America. Beautiful plants with ripening fruits on them. I would snack on the fruits while taking a shower until one day the fruit dropped me to my knees. The hotness from capsaicin can change very quickly as the seeds mature. Unlike other chili plants, the Manzano has black seeds when the fruit has matured. Watch out for a potent long slow burn in the back of the mouth and throat. One very fierce chili!
I’ve been told that the seeds are toxic. Kind of hard to believe but I’m happy to toss them!
OK, this isn’t about this post, but I just got the newsletter with the pozole recipe and I was wondering – can you cook pozole in a pressure cooker? Could it be done without soaking (like beans) – or better to soak first?
I LOVE those peppers! I get them from David at Happy Quail Farm when he has them. I didn’t realize the seeds are considered toxic. I’ve always marveled that they are black instead of the usual pepper seed color.
When I make relish from Rocotos, I always grind up the seeds too. Our Peruvian friends do too. Also in Bolivia. We haven’t died yet from the seeds. Are they really toxic?
That’s what I’ve read. I’m sure in small doses it’s fine. Worth looking into to!