Pepper season is upon us, and that means the aroma of roasting chiles will be filling the air in the Mile High City.
Denver residents love their chiles, green or red, orange or yellow.
All the abundance in farmers markets and grocery aisles — or coming straight out of your garden — presents a question: Just what to do with the bounty?
“I love this time of year,” chef-restaurateur Frank Bonanno says. “The air is getting crisper and cooler, and you’re ready for some heat on your plate.”
Bonanno, whose of restaurants includes Mizuna, Luca d’Italia, Osteria Marco, and , has peppers on his mind. And with good reason.
“I recently spent a good amount of time learning more about peppers and pepper cooking applications while filming my PBS show, ‘Chef Driven,’ ” he said. “We spent a week in New Mexico, and even visited Hatch, the green chile capital. I think we spend a lot of time talking about the green chile in Colorado, because we’re so close to New Mexico and like to claim that we make some pretty good chile here, but we have so many other wonderful varieties that grow in our state.”
Bonanno confesses that his own heat preference falls fairly low on the Scoville scale that measures a pepper’s ability to light up the tongue. He’s big on sweet peppers, jalapeños, Fresnos and shishitos, a Japanese pepper that has become popular stateside.
“Whether you’re growing peppers in your backyard, or visiting the market for the season’s yield, the peppers available right now can really add a great amount of flavor to a dish,” Bonanno said.
Here are six recipes — with an emphasis on sauces, salsas and dips — that will get pepper fans thinking, too.
Chow-Chow
Denver chef John Broening created this dish when he was running Duo. It’s perfect for this time of year and is a blast of seasonal ingredients: red pepper, corn and tomatoes. Makes about 6 cups.
Ingredients
2 cups distilled vinegar
1 cup water
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
6 cloves garlic, sliced
2 teaspoons coriander seed
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon chili flakes
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 cup finely diced red bell pepper
3 cups corn kernels
2 cups finely diced green tomato
1 cup finely diced yellow onion
Directions
In a 2-quart pot, combine the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, garlic and spices. Simmer over medium heat for five minutes. Add the red peppers and simmer two minutes. Add the corn and simmer one more minute. Add the green tomato and onion and turn off the heat. Transfer the chow-chow to a bowl and chill.
To save, place in an odorless plastic container with a lid. Will keep for several days.
Asian Cherry Salsa
This recipe is adapted from “The Summer Table” by Lisa Lemke, with the addition of a poblano pepper. The cherries should be lightly mashed to bring out their flavor. Chargrill the poblano, then let it sweat for 20 minutes in a paper bag before removing the blackened skin. If you want a milder salsa, remove the seeds after the pepper cooks. Makes 4-6 portions.
Ingredients
1-2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons finely grated ginger
1½ tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1½ tablespoons light soy sauce
Pinch granulated sugar
1 pound fresh, ripe cherries, pitted
1 roasted poblano, diced
Coarsely ground black pepper
Salt (optional)
Directions
Finely chop the garlic and combine with the ginger, vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in a bowl. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Add the cherries and crush them gently in a mortar, or by hand, so they are lightly mashed and the juices blend with the other ingredients. Stir in the diced poblano.
Season with black pepper and, if desired, a bit of salt. Pour salsa into a jar, secure the lid and refrigerate for at least an hour. Waiting a day before serving lets the flavors intensify.
Corn and Pepper Relish
This quickly prepared, colorful condiment is from Rick Rodgers’ “The Big Book of Sides.” It goes well with salmon and pork, or just as a stand-alone side. The relish can be refrigerated for up to1 month. Makes 1 quart.
Ingredients
1½ cups cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt, non-iodized
½ teaspoon celery seeds
½ teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1¼ cups corn kernels, about 2 ears
½ sweet onion, diced
½ red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
1 small rib celery, diced
1 jalapeño, seeded and in ¼-dice
Directions
Bring vinegar, sugar, salt, celery seeds, mustard seed and turmeric to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat, stirring often to dissolve sugar and salt.
Stir in the corn, onion, bell pepper, celery and jalapeño and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the celery is crisp-tender, about three minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, pack the vegetable mixture into a 1-quart canning jar. Pour in enough of the cooking liquid to cover the vegetables. Cover the jar with the lid. Let jar stand until the relish reaches room temperature, about two hours. Refrigerate overnight. The relish can be refrigerated for up to one month.
Charred Jalapeño Salsa Verde
This is a popular salsa at Russell’s Smoke House in Larimer Square, which is a member of chef-restaurateur Frank Bonanno’s restaurant group. Serves 4.
Ingredients
1 medium shallot, rough chop
1 clove garlic, minced
3 jalapeños, cooked over open flame until completely charred and black on all sides, stems removed
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1 bunch parsley, roughly chopped1 cup packed spinach leaves (may also use beet tops, radish greens or other leafy green items that we have in house)
1 cup olive oil
1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Combine shallot, garlic and half the jalapeños in a blender. (You can add more jalapeños as needed to dial up the heat.)
Set blender on purée, and as it is running, add some oil to create a pepper-shallot-garlic paste. Add the cilantro, parsley and spinach. Stream oil slowly into the blender, adding only enough as necessary to blend the ingredients into a thickened purée.
Season with the lime juice, salt and pepper. Add more of the jalapeños to reach desired heat level.
Smoke House Pepper Sauce
This sofrito makes a great seasoning garnish for soups and meats. Serves 4. It is the house pepper sauce at Russell’s Smoke House in Larimer Square.
Ingredients
½ yellow onion, diced5 Fresno peppers, stemmed and diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup smoked roma tomato purée, available in Italian and specialty markets
½ cup sherry vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Caramelize onions in a sauté pan until deep brown in color. Add garlic and Fresno peppers and continue to cook until peppers and garlic are tender.
Deglaze with the smoked tomato purée, allow mixture to return to boil and thicken slightly to create the sofrito.
Remove from heat and add the sherry vinegar. Process mixture in the blender, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
IPA Beer Cheese
This is a popular dip at Russell’s Smoke House in Larimer Square. Jalapeño peppers are called for in this recipe, but a roasted chipotle or Pueblo green chile would be terrific, too.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons diced yellow onion
½ jalapeno, diced3 tablespoons all-purpose flour1 cup IPA beer of choice
2 cups whole milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper
Directions
Add onion and jalapeño to a sauté pan with the butter. Cook until they are translucent and tender. Add in flour and build a roux, stirring non-stop with a wooden spoon until the sauce has taken on a light blond color.
Deglaze with the IPA, whisking together until smooth. Add the milk, continue whisking to keep the mixture as smooth as possible. Once the mixture has returned to a boil, fold in the cheddar, continually whisking.
Blend the mixture in a food processor or blender, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
William Porter: 303-954-1877, wporter@denverpost.com or twitter.com/williamporterdp
