This recipe is part of a five-part series devoted to chipotles–those many varieties of smoked chiles. You can go here to start reading–and cooking with–chipotles of all kinds.
Ingredients
½ pound dried chipotle chiles, stems removed
Water to rehydrate
1 quart vinegar
1 head garlic, peeled and crushed
½ cup piloncillo, or ½ cup packed brown sugar
1 cup roasted and peeled green chile, such as poblano or New Mexican
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
6 black peppercorns
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt to taste
Instructions
Soak the chipotles in water until they rehydrate, at least one hour, then drain.
In a saucepan, add ½ of the vinegar, ½ of the garlic and the brown sugar. Cook this mixture for about 20 minutes, then add the chipotles.
In another pan, combine the green chile, tomato, remaining garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, cumin, remaining vinegar, and salt to taste. Cook for about 30 minutes, covered, over a medium heat. Add the chipotle chile mixture, stir well, and store in sterilized jars.