Tag Archives: chiles

Smoky Shrimp Saganaki

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The name of the dish almost sounds Japanese, while the ingredients are an interesting mash-up inspired by Greek shrimp saganaki, that is combined wonderfully with sweet shrimp, tomatoes and feta with subtly smoky dried Mexican chiles. Identity crisis? In name only, because once you taste it, you are transported to another realm entirely — it is so utterly delicious!

The aromatics — cherry tomatoes and garlic, plus an assortment of dried and fresh chiles — simmer and confit in oil in the oven, with shrimp and feta added toward the end of cooking, broiling quickly, to create a wonderfully oozy, charred dish. Now that description certainly got our attention!

It’s a simple, one-pan weeknight meal that cooks in just 30 minutes. This recipe allows flexibility in your choice of chiles; whichever you choose, the gentle confiting of the chiles releases their flavors, adding nuanced heat to complement the bright and tangy tomatoes and feta. (Make sure to get the whole block feta, not the precrumbled variety.)

According to the chef, you can switch out the ancho chile for pasilla chile, or dial up the heat with a fruity Scotch bonnet. Enjoy this dish straight from the pan, mopped up with a piece of crusty bread. Any leftovers can be easily turned into a show-stopping pasta sauce, making this recipe a versatile addition to any recipe collection.

Smoky Shrimp Saganaki

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 chipotle chile (or similar), stem and seeds removed
  • 1 ancho chile (or similar), stem and seeds removed
  • 2 fresh long red chiles (or similar), split open lengthwise with the stem intact
  • 1 head garlic (1 clove minced, the rest separated but left skin-on and whole)
  • 24 oz. cherry tomatoes
  • ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Fine sea salt and black pepper
  • 1 8-oz. block feta
  • ½ lb. peeled and deveined medium shrimp
  • ½ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
  • Crusty bread, for serving

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Add the chipotle chile, ancho chile, fresh chiles, whole garlic cloves, cherry tomatoes, oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper to a 10-inch cast-iron pan or an 8-by-11-inch broiler-safe baking dish. Tuck the dried chiles underneath so that they are submerged in oil to avoid burning. Bake for 10 minutes, then stir, keeping the dried chiles submerged in oil.
  3. Nestle the feta into the middle of the mixture, and return to the oven for 15 minutes, until the tomatoes are nicely charred and the feta has softened, then remove from the oven.
  4. While the feta cooks, delicately butterfly the shrimp by making a shallow cut using a sharp paring knife along the back of each shrimp from head to tail.
  5. Set the broiler to the highest setting and let it heat up for 5 minutes.
  6. Stir the shrimp and the crushed garlic into the tomato mixture, leaving the feta whole in the middle. Broil on the top rack for 3 to 5 minutes, until the shrimp is cooked through and the feta is golden brown.
  7. To serve, spoon some of the tomato mixture on top of the feta, then sprinkle over the cilantro. Serve with crusty bread.

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Recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi for NYT Cooking

Cheesy Pork and Tomatillo Skillet

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Trust me on this one, if you’re gonna cheat, this is the babe you should be doing it with! Calories aside, it’s worth cutting back earlier in the day to imbibe in this decadent cheesy concoction.

If you are looking for a reason to make a meaty, cheesy, saucy skillet dip for dinner, look no further. Great when eaten with tortilla chips but just as great scooped into a bowl and devoured with a spoon, this one-pan dish comes together in around 45 minutes. Serve up to four as a main course, or just let your guests have at it as an appetizer.

Bright and acidic tomatillos are the star here; often sold in their papery husks, this tart fruit softens and gets sweeter as it cooks, adding freshness to the otherwise rich and oozy skillet (thank you, melty pepper Jack cheese).

Pork is a natural friend to green chiles and cumin, but feel free to use any ground meat—or meat substitute—you have on hand. If the contents of this skillet doesn’t disappear in the first go around, thank your lucky stars there will be leftovers.

Cheesy Pork and Tomatillo Skillet

  • Servings: 4-8
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 lb. ground pork
  • 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 large poblano chile, ribs and seeds removed, thinly sliced
  • 3 medium tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed, coarsely chopped
  • 2 4-oz. cans diced green chiles
  • 8 oz. pepper Jack cheese, coarsely grated
  • Cilantro leaves with tender stems and tortilla chips (for serving)

Directions

  1. Place 1 lb. ground pork in a medium bowl and sprinkle with 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, 1 tsp. ground cumin, and 1 tsp. smoked paprika. Using your hands, gently mix to incorporate.
  2. Heat 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook pork mixture, undisturbed, until browned and beginning to crisp underneath, about 3 minutes. Break up meat into ½” pieces with a wooden spoon and continue to cook, stirring often, until just cooked through, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a small bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving fat behind; set aside.
  3. Add 1 small red onion, thinly sliced, and 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, to same skillet; season with salt. Cook, stirring often, until onion is slightly softened and garlic is starting to turn golden, about 3 minutes. Add 1 large poblano chile, ribs and seeds removed, thinly sliced, and 3 medium tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed, coarsely chopped; cook, stirring occasionally, until poblano is golden in spots, about 1 minute. Add two 4-oz. cans diced green chiles and 1 cup water and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits, until almost all liquid is evaporated and tomatillos are mostly softened, 7–9 minutes. Remove from heat.
  4. Heat broiler. Add reserved pork mixture to skillet and stir to combine. Top evenly with 8 oz. pepper Jack cheese, coarsely grated. Broil until cheese is melted and starting to blister in spots, about 3 minutes. Let cool slightly.
  5. Top with cilantro leaves with tender stems. Serve with tortilla chips.

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Recipe by Kendra Vaculan for Bon Appétit

Curried Chicken Fried Rice with Chiles

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Another weeknight recipe that transports you out of the ordinary doldrums of your usual meal rotation. Nigerian fried rice, seasoned with curry powder, dried thyme and a handful of aromatics, inspired this meal-in-a-skillet. While beef liver and an assortment of vegetables are classic ingredients, here it is comprised of chicken thighs and green beans.

Instead of using just-cooked rice, which results in a softer, moisture texture in the finished dish, plain cooked rice that’s been chilled is used so the grains “fry” up light and fluffy. Fragrant basmati is especially good, but any type of long-grain white rice works.

Don’t be afraid to really scrape up the browned bits from the surface of the skillet after you’ve added the broth. The caramelization lends the fried rice great depth of flavor.

Curried Chicken Fried Rice with Chiles

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp. neutral oil or refined coconut oil, divided
  • 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 tsp. curry powder, divided
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced, whites and greens reserved separately
  • 2 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
  • 4 oz. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • 1 Fresno or jalapeño chili, stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced
  • 4 cups cooked and chilled long-grain white rice, preferably basmati
  • 1 cup chicken broth, preferably homemade

Directions

  1. In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil until barely smoking. Add the chicken and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of the curry powder, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, 4 to 6 minutes.
  2. Push the chicken to the perimeter of the pan. To the center, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, scallion whites and ginger; cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 1½ minutes. Into the scallion mixture, stir the beans, thyme, half of the chili, the remaining 1½ teaspoons curry powder and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Stir the chicken into the bean mixture; cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are bright green, about 2 minutes. Stir in the rice, then add the broth and scrape up any browned bits. Cook, stirring, until the liquid is absorbed, 3 to 5 minutes.
  3. Off heat, taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve sprinkled with the scallion greens and remaining chili.

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Recipe by Courtney Hill for Milk Street

Stir-Fried Thai-Style Beef with Chiles and Shallots

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Stir-fried dishes are one of our favorite go-to meals. You can basically add whatever ingredients that suits your fancy—or in an effort to use up some fresh vegetables.

For a sophisticated Thai beef recipe using available ingredients and requiring minimal cooking time, you can use an inexpensive blade steak, which offers both tenderness and robust flavor. With a marinade made of fish sauce, white pepper, citrusy coriander, and a little light brown sugar, the beef needs to marinated for only 15 minutes to develop full flavor.

To add heat to this stir-fried Thai beef recipe, use an easily controlled heat source—Asian chili-garlic paste—that also adds toasty garlicky flavors along with heat.

If you cannot find blade steaks, use flank steak (our choice). To cut a flank steak into the proper-sized slices for stir-frying, first cut the steak with the grain into 1 1/2-inch strips, then cut the strips against the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices (see photo below). White pepper lends this stir-fry a unique flavor (black pepper is not a good substitute). Serve the stir-fry with steamed jasmine rice.

Stir-Fried Thai-Style Beef with Chiles and Shallots

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

Beef and Marinade

  • ¾ tsp. ground coriander
  • ⅛ tsp. ground white pepper
  • 1 tsp. light brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. fish sauce
  • 2 lbs. blade or flank steak, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick strips

Stir-Fry

  • 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp. water
  • 1 Tbsp. light brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. Asian chili-garlic paste
  • 3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 Tbsp.)
  • 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 3 Serrano chiles or jalapeño chiles, halved, seeds and ribs removed, chiles cut crosswise ⅛ inch thick
  • 3 medium shallots, trimmed of ends, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and layers separated
  • ½ cup fresh mint leaves, large leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
  • ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
  • ⅓ cup chopped unsalted roasted peanuts and lime wedges for serving

Directions

  1. FOR THE BEEF AND MARINADE: Combine coriander, white pepper, brown sugar, and fish sauce in large bowl. Add beef, toss well to combine; marinate 15 minutes.
  2. FOR THE STIR-FRY: In small bowl, stir together fish sauce, vinegar, water, brown sugar, and chili-garlic paste until sugar dissolves; set aside.
  3. In small bowl, mix garlic with 1 teaspoon oil; set aside. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet (or use a wok like we did) over high heat until smoking; add one-third of beef to skillet in even layer. Cook, without stirring, until well browned, about 2 minutes, then stir and continue cooking until beef is browned around edges and no longer pink in the center, about 30 seconds.
  4. Transfer beef to medium bowl. Repeat with additional oil and remaining meat in 2 more batches.
  5. After transferring last batch of beef to bowl, reduce heat to medium; add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to now-empty skillet and swirl to coat. Add chiles and shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to soften, 3 to 4 minutes.
  6. Push chile-shallot mixture to sides of skillet to clear center; add garlic to clearing and cook, mashing mixture with spoon, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir to combine garlic with chile-shallot mixture.
  7. Add fish sauce mixture to skillet; increase heat to high and cook until slightly reduced and thickened, about 30 seconds.
  8. Return beef and any accumulated juices to skillet, toss well to combine and coat with sauce, stir in half of mint and cilantro; serve immediately, sprinkling individual servings with portion of peanuts and remaining herbs, and passing lime wedges separately.

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Adapted from a recipe in Cook’s Illustrated