Cocina de la Casa
By Chef Gonzalo Martínez, Feb 9, 2007

Chiles

Ah, the chile—the sacred plant of the Aztecs. When you are born and raised in Mexico, no matter what your social background, eating chiles is just part of the flavor of your daily diet. You don’t spend a lot of time contemplating their history and sacredness or their role in the Aztec empire. With breakfast you have chiles in your huevos a la Méxicana. You have them in escabeche with your box lunch, or as a salsa in an antojito. You have them for dinner in a stew or mole, or simply as a condiment. 

As a boy, before I got interested in cooking as a profession, chiles were simply part of life. I only needed to walk to the street corner from my house to find a local lady selling roasted corn with lemon salt and, of course, ground dried chile piquín. That was the perfect snack. At the markets were boiled garbanzos and peanuts with lime, salt and powdered chile. If you had a sweet tooth, there were candies, made with chile.

It is only now, as a chef, that I know the names of all the chiles, how to use them, and the important role they play in my culture—not only as food, but for medicinal, religious and cosmetic purposes as well. So, let’s talk about chiles. As a lot of you understand, this is a complex topic, so I will start by telling you some of the basics. 

First of all, people call chiles, in English, chilis or chilies. According to experts, chili is a dish that uses chiles as an ingredient. If you want to be correct, they say, call the pepper a chile, as we do in Spanish. OK, enough on language. There are more important aspects of chiles to discuss here.

Chile peppers have been an essential part of the diet in the Americas since about 7500 BCE. One of the first plants cultivated in Mesoamerica, they were used extensively by the Aztecs, bringing balance to food when combined with corn, beans and squash. When the Spaniards came, they thought chile was the magic spice they were looking for, but they soon discovered it was only a supplement for other dishes. It was at that time that Creole food started in Mexico—all the salsas, moles, tamales, chiles rellenos, escabeche, candies and drinks.

Chile has helped preserve health since ancient times. Dried, they contain pro-vitamin A, which our livers transform into vitamin A. Fresh, they are loaded with vitamin C—often twice as much as in citrus fruits. Chiles also contain considerable amounts of calcium, B vitamins, amino acids, iron, magnesium and phosphorus, among other nutrients.

Most chiles come from the Capsicum annum, and both their type and where they grow determine their names and levels of hotness. The flavor is concentrated in the skin, and the spiciness comes from the seeds and veins, which contains capsaicin. When the seeds come in contact with the vein, they become spicy (they don’t contain this substance on their own). You might want to remember that the heart of the fire is in the vein when preparing your meals.

When you buy fresh chiles, look for vivid colors and spot-free skin, with stem intact. When buying them dried, look for whole chiles, and make sure they don’t have any traces of humidity or mold on them. You can store fresh chiles in your refrigerator on the lower shelf for as much as a week, and dried chiles for up to 6 months in air-tight containers. To control the heat, remove the seeds and vein before you use them.

A lot of fresh chiles, when dried, take on a new name. Some of the more common are

jalapeño to chipotle, small jalapeño to morita, mirasol to guajillo, poblano to ancho and chilaca to pasilla.

In the hotel kitchens, I like to combine various chile flavors—fresh, smoked and cured—with local ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, mezcal and tequila to create a distinctive dish. The more you experiment with chiles, the more you will come to appreciate the range and subtleties of flavors they can bring to your cuisine. 


Salsa Verde con Aguacate (Avocado and Green Tomato Salsa)

1 pound tomatillos 

½ large onion

1 garlic clove

2 serrano peppers

1 avocado

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup cilantro

2 limes

Salt and pepper to taste 



Toast the chiles on a comal or flat skillet (careful!—open your windows). 

Sauté olive oil, onion and garlic for a few minutes over a low flame. Add the fresh, diced tomatillos and the avocado flesh. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

If you like your salsa more chunky, use the “Mexican blender,” the mortar and pestle we call a molcajete.