[CH] Toasted Garlic - Habanero Mash
T. Matthew Evans (matt.evans@ce.gatech.edu)
Wed, 14 Nov 2001 17:46:51 -0500
Hi All --
Stumbled across some nice tastiness last night and thought I would share....
Wife asked me to sauté some chicken thighs last night for a casserole she
was making. Not being one to take the easy way out, I decided I needed some
flavored oil. I've made a ton of flavored oils in my time (please see China
Moon by Barbara Tropp for a primer), but I never tried one with fresh chiles
(usually use dried). At any rate, here goes:
I sautéed 3 sliced habaneros (2 red, 1 orange) and 6 smashed cloves of
garlic and about 1/4 tsp kosher salt in 3 tablespoons of canola oil until
they just began to caramelize. I then added a pinch of cumin seed and
continued to sauté for another minute or so. I allowed the solids to cool
in the oil and then strained off all but about a teaspoon of oil from the
solids. The solids were very crisp and toasted, almost like deep fried
chips. They were all a deep golden brown. I placed the solids, reserved 1
tsp of oil, and about 1 tsp of white vinegar into a food processor and
ground this mix to a paste.
The paste had a flavor much different from anything I had tried before --
less vinegary than a hot sauce, less oily than an oil, and the perfect
consistency. It tastes of toasted garlic in front, develops into a nice
(hot!) full-mouth heat with strong habanero flavor, and finishes with a
roasted garlic aftertaste.
Good luck.
Matt
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T. Matthew Evans
Graduate Research Assistant
Geosystems Group, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
URL: www.prism.gatech.edu/~gte964w
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