Poblano Peppers Packed in Oil

In my admittedly limited pepper-consuming career, I've come to the conclusion that the poblano is the perfect pepper. I particularly like them because they're satisfyingly spicy without inducing asthma or a heart attack, although they can give you the almost-pleasant runny nose effect. (There are times when you need some killer heat. For those times, seek out a habenero). Plus, if you cut up a poblano and then rub your eyes, it's not quite as sucky as the intensely burning mucous membranes you'll experience when you make the same mistake with a jalapeno.

Poblanos are pleasantly flavorful as well as spicy; the flavor is simultaneously stimulating and comforting, endorphin-releasing and soothing. The smell of roasting poblanos is purely mouth-watering, and our house feel like a home when it's infused with this scent. It actually does anyway, but I suppose that the smell of roasting poblanos can enhance the hominess.

We like to use poblanos in any number of things, including carne asada (grilled skirt steak served on tortillas with slices of roasted poblanos), rice, stuffed vegetables, quinoa salads, and potato gratins, to name a few.
You can use poblanos freshly roasted, or you can employ this oil-packing method, which was inspired by an article in Food and Wine. Basically, you roast some peppers, peel, seed, and slice them, and cover them with oil. The oil will keep them fresh for a little while, but it can go rancid. Thus, it's suggested that the peppers, like pesto or romesco, be frozen in little batches.

What's the point of doing such a thing, you ask? Well, have you ever wanted some spiciness but don't feel like going through the tedious process of roasting, peeling, seeding and chopping some peppers? I certainly have. So from now on, when I'm feeling a little lazy but want some peppery goodness, I'll just take a little packet of peppers from the freezer, and it will defrost in minutes.

For example, these peppers will be especially ideal for what we call Drunken Nachos. Drunken Nachos hail from the days when we were wild and crazy kids. We'd go out for the night and come home wanting some munchies. We generally had some nachos, cheese, canned corn and canned chiles laying around; thus, Drunken Nachos were born.

We're getting a bit too old for such shenanigans, but we've talked about doing an up-scale, more grown up version of Drunken Nachos. The tortilla chips are easy--we'll graduate from Tostitos to to some yummy organic ones, and we'll get some nice cheese. The corn could be fresh corn cut off the cob, or w ecould use some organic frozen corn, but that leaves the peppers. Roasted poblanos are the perfect solution, and the fact that we can have them laying around and readily accessible keeps this dish in the original spontaneous spirit of the Drunken Nachos.

Perhaps we'll even someday have a Grown-Up Drunken Nachos post. For now, though, I need to stop thinking about cheesy foods, because the patient that I just triaged threw up her Kraft Macaroni 'N' Cheese, and I feel like I smell like it.

So, you don't have to make Drunken Nachos, but I'm sure you can come up with some other uses for some oil-packed peppers. You don't have to use poblanos, either--you can use any kind of pepper that strikes your fancy.

Food and Wine suggested adding dried oregano to the oil, but I omitted it because I feel that it would work with red peppers, but not green ones. You, of course, can add oregano, cumin seeds, or whatever inspires you. You could use your oil-packed peppers in one of the applications mentioned above, or you could put them on burgers, pizzas, eggs...anything, really.

Poblano Peppers Packed in Oil

*This roasting method can be used for any pepper.

• 1 pound fresh poblano peppers
• About 1/2 cup canola oil

If you have a gas stove, turn a burner to high. If you have an electric stove, preheat the broiler. (A gas torch like the ones used for creme brulee would also work.) Place one or two peppers at a time directly onto the burner grate, and turn once the side facing the flame is thoroughly charred and blackened. Continue to turn until the whole pepper is charred. Alternatively, place all of the peppers on a foil-lined baking sheet and place under the boiler. Turn occasionally, until all sides are blackened.

When the peppers are thoroughly charred, place them in a paper bag and fold down the top, or place them in a bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. After about 10 minutes, remove the peppers and wipe their skins off with a paper towel. Cut the tops off, remove the seeds, and cut into strips. Depending on the application, cut the strips cross-wise to form a dice or leave them in strips.
 

Gamberi Fra Diavolo

After some research and debate, Gamberi Fra Diavolo, or Shrimp of the Devil Priest, seemed like the perfect dinner for a Tuesday night. This is Nick's perennial favorite at our favorite Italian restaurant, La Scala. In the days of yore, the dish used to be made so spicy that Nick would break out into a sweat. He'd say, "I'm sorry, but I can't talk to you for a couple minutes because I have to eat this before the heat catches up with me."

Unfortunately, the Gamberi Fra Diavolo has not recently been very spicy. In fact, it's been remarkably lacking in fierceness. Therefore, Nick was quite excited by the prospect of adding 4 jalapenos and a tablespoon of red pepper flakes to 2 cups of tomato sauce.

What he wasn't too excited about was picking and chopping three tablespoons of thyme leaves. You'll note that the recipe below does not include 3 tablespoons of thyme leaves. Have you ever tried to pick three tablespoons of fresh thyme?

It incited an expletive-filled rant from Nick: "What kind of m......f.......ing b.... a.. came up with this s...? Probably some a..hole with a prep cook and s..." I felt his pain, which is why we lessened the amount of herbs in general, and substituted some fresh oregano. Thank you, herb garden. 

We ended up using only 3 of the jalapenos, as Nick started coughing while cutting them up and saying to himself, "Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands." We've all been there--you cut some peppers, forget to wash your hands, touch some mucous membranes or some sensitive skin...
Well, the coughing led to a taste test, which confirmed that the jalapenos were indeed abnormally hot. As we were cooking for company, we not only cut back on the jalapenos, but the red pepper flakes as well. You don't want to serve your friends something they can't eat, right?

Next time, though, we're going to go all-out. But the point is that if you make this recipe, you should taste your peppers, and adjust the spiciness according to your heat tolerance. We could have handled more fieriness, but there was still enough tastebud intensity to get the endorphins flowing. And, funnily enough, we all suddenly hit a point at which our noses started running copiously. Yummy, right? That's how a box of tissues became the new centerpiece. Luckily, it was a pretty box of tissues.

The meal was quite lovely with a cheese plate, some zucchini fritters, baguettes, and some sparkling Shiraz. And like our friend said, we may as well enjoy some succulent, tasty shrimp while we still can.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

• 1 lb high-quality dried pasta, such as Barilla, the shape of your choice
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 4 jalapenos, seeded and sliced into 1/8 inch thick rounds
• 1tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 2 cups tomato sauce (recipe below)
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 lb peeled shrimp
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley  

Bring salted water to a boil and cook pasta until a dente, according to package instructions.


Meanwhile, in a saute pan, heat 2 TBSP olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and jalapenos and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.

Add the red pepper flakes, tomato sauce and wine and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 4 minutes.

Lay the shrimp in the sauce and simmer until just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes.Drain the pasta and plate topped with sauce and shrimp, garnish with chopped parsley.

Tomato Sauce

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, cut into a 1/4 inch dice
• 6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded
• Two 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a large sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the herbs and carrot and cook until the carrot is soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juice and the red pepper flakes, and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the hear and simmer until thick, periodically breaking up the whole tomatoes with a wooden spoon. This will take at least 1/2 an hour, but the sauce can be cooked much longer if you like.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.