Chile Peppers
Page 34
The substitution of hot peppers for salt makes gustatory sense because the pungency of the peppers counteracts the blandness of the meal resulting from salt restrictions. In other words, the heat masks the absence of salt. Fortunately, fresh or frozen chile peppers have an extremely low sodium content.
According to a study at New Mexico State University, “Even in a severely restricted diet, the sodium content of 3.7 to 5.7 milligrams per 100 grams found in fresh chile peppers is reasonable to include as a food choice.” However, the study warns that canned green-chile peppers should be avoided because of the salt used in the canning process, which can be over a hundred times the amount in fresh or frozen chile peppers.
recipes
The recipes in this chapter were developed by Nancy Gerlach, who is my coauthor of 10 books. Nancy, in addition to her work on those books, and the decade she spent as the food editor of Chile Pepper magazine, is a registered dietitian.
Herb shaker. Photograph by EvgeniiAnd. iStock.
HERB SHAKER
yield
¼ cup
heat scale
medium-hot
This recipe for a salt substitute is based on one from the American Heart Association. Reach for the chile instead of the sodium!
3
teaspoons ground cayenne
1
tablespoon garlic powder
1
teaspoon ground basil
1
teaspoon ground thyme
1
teaspoon ground parsley flakes
1
teaspoon ground savory
1
teaspoon ground mace
1
teaspoon onion powder
1
teaspoon ground black pepper
1
teaspoon ground sage
1
teaspoon marjoram
Combine all the ingredients in a salt shaker, label it “Herb Shaker,” and use it to flavor meats, vegetables, starches, or anything that would usually need salt.
HIGH “C” SALSA
yield
2 cups
heat scale
medium
This all-purpose “chunky” salsa is a good source of vitamin C, as well as being low in sodium. There are four sources of “C” in this recipe: the chiles, the tomato, the parsley, and the lime juice. Although vitamin C is affected by contact with the air, this salsa contains such a large amount that a single serving still meets the daily requirement.
This salsa can be served as a dip with chips, as a salsa over foods such as burritos or steaks, or over shredded lettuce as a salad dressing.
4 to 6
green New Mexican chiles, roasted, peeled, stems and seeds removed, chopped
3
jalapeño chiles, stems and seeds removed, chopped
4
tomatoes, chopped
1
medium red onion, chopped
1
clove garlic, minced
2
tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
2
tablespoons vegetable oil
1
tablespoon fresh lime juice
½
teaspoon ground cumin
¼
teaspoon ground cloves
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and allow them to sit for at least an hour before serving.
MONKFISH WITH CHILE ORANGE OIL
yield
4 servings
heat scale
medium
The dried red chile used in this recipe provides an ample amount of vitamin A even when used as a marinade. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.
¼
cup dried, crushed red New Mexican chiles, seeds included
2
cups peanut oil
1
teaspoon sesame oil
Zest of 3 oranges, finely minced
2
cloves garlic, finely minced
1 ½
pounds monkfish fillets
Heat the peanut oil to about 325° F. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil, orange zest, garlic, and chile. Allow the oil to cool, add the fish, and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Grill the fish until done, basting frequently with the marinade.
LOW-CALORIE HOT SALAD DRESSING
yield
1 ⅓ cups
heat scale
medium
Try this recipe in place of commercial low-calorie dressings, which may have up to 90 calories per tablespoon; this one has only 15 calories per tablespoon, and much less sodium.
1
teaspoon ground cayenne
2
green New Mexican chiles, roasted, peeled, stems and seeds removed, chopped
½
cup ketchup
¾
cup cider vinegar
1
tablespoon vegetable oil
1
teaspoon sugar
½
teaspoon dry mustard
2
cloves garlic, finely chopped
1
tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
POTATOES WITH CHILE COLORADO
yield
4 servings
heat scale
mild
This easy, flavorful recipe is high in complex carbohydrates and low in sodium while providing an outstanding source of vitamin A. One serving of these potatoes more than exceeds the daily requirement for this vitamin, supplied here by the dried red chile. These potatoes go well with broiled meats or baked chicken.
2
tablespoons dried, crushed red chiles, seeds included
¼
cup chopped onion
1
tablespoon margarine
2
medium potatoes, baked with the skins on, cubed
Sauté the onion and the chiles in the margarine.
Toss the potatoes in the mixture and bake in a 350-degree F. oven until heated through.
LOW-SODIUM CHILE SAUCE
yield
2 cups
heat scale
mild
Use this low-sodium sauce in place of bottled “chili sauce,” ketchup, or commercial barbecue sauce that can contain up to 130 milligrams of sodium per tablespoon. This recipe has less than 5 milligrams of sodium per tablespoon. Experiment with the levels of spices to suit individual tastes. Use in place of ketchup in any recipe, on sandwiches, or as a basting sauce when grilling. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.
5
teaspoons dried, ground pasilla chiles, or substitute red New Mexican chiles
8
tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed, or 1 three-pound can of low-sodium canned tomatoes
1
cup low-sodium tomato juice
1
large onion, chopped
1
cup cider vinegar
¼
cup brown sugar
1
teaspoon dried mustard
¼
teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼
teaspoon ground cloves
¼
teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼
teaspoon ground ginger
Combine the chiles, tomatoes, tomato juice, and onion in a nonaluminum pan, and simmer for 15 minutes or until the tomatoes break down.
Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 3 to 4 hours until the sauce is the consistency of thick ketchup. Store in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before serving.
LOW-SODIUM CALDILLO
yield
6 servings
heat scale
medium
Caldillo (light broth) is the Southwest’s answer to beef and vegetable soup. The heat and taste of the
chiles masks the lack of salt in the following soup. This recipe is low in calories, with each serving having fewer than 200. Serve with a crisp salad with Low-Calorie Hot Salad Dressing (see recipe this chapter) and a fruited yogurt for a complete, flavorful meal.
6
green New Mexican chiles, roasted, peeled, stems and seeds removed, chopped
¾
pound round steak, cut in ¾-inch cubes
2
tablespoons vegetable oil
2
large potatoes, diced
1
small onion, chopped fine
2
stalks celery, chopped fine
4
cups low-sodium beef broth
1
teaspoon powdered cumin
1
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1
teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
In a soup pot, brown the meat in the oil, remove, and drain.
Add the potatoes, onions, and celery, and sauté until the potatoes are browned.
Add the broth, chiles, cumin, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are done, about 35 minutes. Five minutes before serving, add the meat.
Top with the cilantro and serve.
ten
CHILES BECOME LEGENDARY
According to Google, there are about 30 synonyms for the adjective “legendary,” so I’d like to start this chapter by informing readers about those that are particularly applicable to chile peppers. They are traditional in many world cuisines; famous for their spicy history; celebrated with festivals; acclaimed for their healing powers; esteemed for their colors; honored in festivals; notable for their long history; popular in recipes; lauded for their flavors; prominent in their pungency; great in cooking; outstanding in their flavor; revered in cookoffs; glorious in gardens; and unforgettable as superhots.
CHILE PEPPERS IN EARLY LEGEND AND LORE
The ritual uses of the genus Capsicum range from the innocuous to the murderous, but the fiery pods are always powerful. In astrology, capsicums fall under the dominion of Mars, ancient god of war, so that should be some indication of respect. Fuentes y Guzmán wrote in 1682 that those who frequently ate red pepper were protected against poison, while the Incas prohibited the use of chiles at initiation and funeral rites. We do not know why the pods were precluded by the Incas, but we console ourselves with the knowledge that capsicums were associated with lightning bolts in Incan mythology—that we can easily understand.
One of the commonest household uses of chile peppers in cultures all over the world is burning them as a fumigant for vermin ranging from bedbugs to rats. Since fumigation in ancient times was also believed to be protection against vampires and werewolves, we have a good introduction to the concept of the magical powers of peppers.
“Chile is used as an amulet, probably because of its well-known protective pharmacological properties, and in religious ceremonies, witchcraft, and conjuring; its fiery potency is considered a powerful means to any end,” observes Beatrice Roeder, author of Chicano Folk Medicine from Los Angeles, California.
In a ritual from Coahuila, Mexico, chiles are instrumental in countering the effects of “salting,” which is casting a spell on a person to cause them harm, particularly mental problems. Such witchcraft is called maleficio in Mexico. To cast the spell, the evildoer gathers dirt from the grave of a person who died a violent death. Then he or she gathers salt from the homes of three widows, or from the homes of three women named Jane (Juana). The salt is mixed with the soil and is sprinkled in front of the door of the victim.
The red-chile ristra balloon lifts off from the field of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Photograph by Chel Beeson. Used with permission.
If the victim finds the salt and soil, he or she burns it immediately and then must counter whatever evil effects are left by smoking them out. To accomplish this sahumerio ritual, on the first Friday of the month hot coals are placed in a bucket, and myrrh, storax, the peeling of a clove of garlic, rosemary, rue, star anise, and chiltepín chiles are added. The victim carries the smoldering bucket throughout the house, adding extra smoke to the corners where evil may hide, while reciting a prayer that evil depart and good arrive through the sahumerio.
Further, the salting victim must perform another chile ritual. He or she stands outside on the patio, holds twelve ancho chiles in the left hand—plus three pinches of coarse salt—and rubs them over his or her body in the form of a cross. Then the salt and the chiles are thrown into a fire. The victim believes that burning chiles and salt will cause the malefactor to burn in the same manner. Then the victim recites the following three times: “Ghost of the cemetery, may those who have salted me receive this salt.”
Chiles are considered to be a cleanser for evil eye (mal de ojo), bad luck, and bewitchment among Hispanics in the United States, a practice imported from Mexico. This parallels usage among Native Americans in Guatemala. When a child is thought to have the evil eye, the parents spray the child’s face with a mixture of rue, and then a little aguardiente (liquor, usually brandy), mixed with a crushed hot pepper, is rubbed on the child’s feet. Another cure for the evil eye calls for mixing a little annatto seed with chile peppers in a cloth bag and passing it over the child’s body while making the sign of the cross. Then the bag is thrown into a fire.
A cure for the evil eye from Coahuila, Mexico, calls for the child to be wiped with the inside of an ancho chile. The child is patted on the head, crosses are made over the eyelids and forehead, and the child is laid on a bed with the arms outstretched in the form of a cross. The chile is wiped over the body to absorb the occult power, and then it is burned. Curanderas (female healers) often treat the hexing of adults by rubbing the inflamed areas (such as the feet) with whole eggs, a lime, and an ancho chile, which are then thrown into a fire. Perhaps because of their fiery nature, chiles are thought to absorb evil influences, which are then destroyed by fire.
In a remarkable parallel usage between totally different cultures, the East Indian population of Trinidad wraps seven red-pepper pods with salt, onion skins, and garlic skins in paper and passes the bundle seven times around a baby to remove najar, the evil eye, which is believed to cause unnecessary crying. Also, green chiles are dropped around the doorway to keep away evil spirits.
Interestingly, however, some cultures believe that the chiles themselves can bring on trouble. African Hispanics from islands like Cuba and Hispañola believe that red pepper pods on a doorstep are the sign of a malignant influence and may give a man the “hot foot.” Likewise, chiles are associated with the luban oko, or “red demon,” of the Tsachila or Colorados Indians of the Amazon. This demon is said to suck the blood out of its victims, leaving them “as white as a boiled yuca.” The chiles are burned in a fire while being served in food, and the demon is foiled in two ways: he is asphyxiated by the fumes, and he cannot eat any of the food because it is too spicy. Again there is the recurrent image of burning, and this time it is specifically related to the heat of the chiles.
Red chiles on a doorstep. Photograph by Dave DeWitt.
Now some negativity starts to creep into the lore. “A case of death has been reported due to eating of excessive quantity of chillies,” warns R. N. Chopra in his classic book, Poisonous Plants of India. I doubted that Indians indulged in pepper-eating contests, but when I read that chiles are one of the ingredients in the arrow poison of indigenous Dayak tribesmen of Borneo, I began to wonder how far chile powers extended—even to cause death? Again I checked with R. N. Chopra and learned: “In the past, chillies were frequently used in the Orient for the purpose of torture, some of the common methods being by introducing them into the nostrils, eyes, vagina or urethra, and burning under the nose.”
Chiles and salt on a nail cross. Photograph by Dave DeWitt.
There is no doubt that chiles indeed do have a darker side. In northern Mexico, chiles are still used as part of
spells to make people ill or even to kill them. One “potion” consists of a rag that contains chile seeds, scorpions, sow bugs, mustard, and a strand of red silk. In a scenario recorded by Isabel Kelly in her book Folk Practices in North Mexico, another spell proved to be deadly. “Another time they threw chiles through the door of the butcher shop. They were two large chiles anchotes [probably anchos], wrapped in a newspaper. The chiles were ‘prepared.’ They stuck the package in, through a hole in the door. May God receive him, because he fell ill and died.”
Needless to say, I am sobered by these wholly (and holistically) impure uses of chiles. I am heartened, however, by a report from one of my peripatetic friends, Lorenzo Fritz, who travels regularly to South America to live with the Indians, trade for crafts, and collect chile information for me. He told me that the Aymara Indians of Bolivia conduct a spiritual cleansing ritual in which a mixture of various herbs, flowers, and locoto chiles (Capsicum pubescens) are placed in a pail of boiling water. The subject sits on a stool nearby, and a blanket is placed over him and the pail to form a minisauna. Lorenzo, who observed the ceremony, noted: “This exercise is said to be an exorcism for malas energías, or bad energies.”