Recipe Name: ADOBO
Category: MEXICAN
Serves: 1
8 Each Cloves of Garlic, unpeeled
4 Each Dried chiles Anchos
-stemmed,seeded,deveined
-about 2 ounces
6 Each Dried chiles Guajillos
-stemmed,seeded,deveined
-about 1 1/2 ounces
1/2 Each Inch stick cinnamon
-about 1/2 t ground
1 Each Clove, or a pinch ground
10 Each Black peppercorns
-scant 1/4 t ground
2 lg Bay Leaves broken up
1/8 ts Cumin seed, or 1/8 t ground
1/2 ts Dried Oregano
1/2 ts Dried Thyme
1 1/2 ts Salt
1/4 Cup Cider vinegar
Toasting the chiles and garlic. Roast the garlic
cloves on a griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat,
turning frequently, until blackened in spots and VERY
soft, about 15 minutes. Remove, cool, skin and roughly
chop.
While the garlic is roasting, tear the chiles into
flat pieces and toast them a few at a time: Use a
metal spatula to press them firmly against the hot
surface for a few seconds, until they blister, crackle
and change color, then flip them over and press them
flat to toast the other side.
Soaking the dried chiles. Break the chiles into a
small bowl, cover with boiling water, weight with a
plate to keep submerged and soak 30 minutes. Drain,
tear into smaller pieces, place in a blender jar and
add the garlic.
Finishing the Adobo. In a mortar or spice grinder,
pulverize the cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, bay
leaves and cumin. Add the chiles along with the
oregano, thyme, salt, vinegar and 3 Tb water. With a
long series of blender pulses, reduce the mixture to a
paste. Run the blender for a few seconds until the
mixture clogs, then scrape down the sides with a
spatula and stir; repeat a dozen times or more until
the mixture is smooth. Don’t add water unless
absolutely necessary or this marinating paste won’t do
its job well. Strain the paste through a medium-mesh
sieve into a noncorrosive container with a
tight-fitting lid. Cover and refrigerate.
Considerations: After soaking the chiles, they can be
put through a foley food mill to remove the skins and
the seeds. Add this puree along with the garlic to the
small blender jar and proceed. If this is done, and
the mixture is put together in a small blender jar,
and pulsed, scraped down, and mixed very well the
final sieving can be eliminated.
All of the chiles can be Ancho or Guajillo. You can
substitute 3 1/2 ounces of California or New Mexican
chiles for the above chiles but the flavor will be
light.
Adobo with powdered chiles: For a darker, stronger
tasting adobo made without the tedious series of
blender runs, roast the chiles and garlic as directed
above, then pulverize the chiles with the
cinnamon,cloves,pepper, bay leaves and cumin in
several batches in a spice grinder; sift through a
medium-mesh sieve. Skin the garlic and mash it to a
smooth paste. Mix with the powdered chile mixture,
oregano, thyme, salt, vinegar and 6 Tb water. Store as
directed above.