There’s nothing quite like the intensity and flavour of a chilli purée – especially one that is made from dried chillies. Although you don’t get that freshness associated with just-picked chillies there are a couple of distinct advantages using the dehydrated form. Firstly, you can toast a dried chilli to add a deep smoky flavour to it; the chilli will resist intense heat for a short period of time without burning. Secondly, drying chillies makes their availability global. Although I am very much in favour of local ingredients there are some that just positively can only be sourced elsewhere. For me there is no substitute, for example, for a dried ancho or chipotle chilli; chillies that are available at my local Spanish/ Portuguese delicatessen and are sourced from Mexico. A taste of Mexico in Melbourne.
This chilli purée is easy to make, with a little patience, and is excellent added to sauces, condiments, stews and in particular Mexican style meat sauces. For what it’s worth, and it’s worth a bit because it’s pretty good, I have used some of the batch I make in the video in an onion jam.
