Chilli appreciationchilli

Flaevius · 25 Aug 2019 at 15:48

Couldn't locate a dedicated chilli thread, other than the growers' thread in the Home & Garden forum.

So who enjoys them, uses them, and what recipes do you incorporate them into? Let's talk chillies!

I've recently put in my first order with the South Devon Chilli Farm: https://www.southdevonchillifarm.co.uk and bought some Guajillo to spice up my chilli con carne, a dish I make regularly meal-prepping for work. Inspired there by a recipe Rick Stein had posted following his 'Road to Mexico' series. Also nabbed some dried Kashmiri and a pack of Bullet chillies to keep longer term, and some Padron. Seeing the latter reminded me of travelling through Meteora in Greece a couple of years ago and eating at a family-run taverna. Fantastic barbecued-meat restaurant and I had something like the Padron as a starter. Glug of oil, fried off until blistered, and a sprinkling of sea-salt - delicious.

What do you guys use as stuffed chillies if not the Poblano? I wanted a few of those but they are out of stock, possibly out of season.

I really rate Mexican cuisine, but make so little of it. Any recipes to share?

Oh, and can a mod please amend the title!!

soulhunter123 · 29 Aug 2019 at 01:15

What did you order from the site? It looks good but (not surprisingly) expensive. (It's depressing that in any Mediterranean country you can buy kilograms of chillies/peppers for pennies but buying them in the UK (even dried) costs a small fortune!)

Padrons are available in a lot of supermarkets now, and are great cooked as you say; seared on a very high heat and sprinkled with salt and oil.

This recipe is excellent, you should try it with if you get anchos: https://www.mexicanplease.com/ancho-chile-enchilada-sauce/

Temujin · 29 Aug 2019 at 07:33

I had a look on there too and was surprised at the prices they were asking for a few chillies, guess that's more motivation to grow a menagerie of different strains next year!

Psycho Sonny · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:02

it's because chillis are imported. do you expect them not to add in taxes, transportation costs, profits of all the middle men involved?

chillis aren't grown here by farmers.

growing your own isn't that easy and you are restricted to how many you can grow by the space you have available and the yields are okay. you might have enough to do you for a month per plant. but unless you grow 10-20 plants you won't be making sauces any time soon.

i've got 3 plants. 1 has yielded zero chillies. 1 has yielded 1 so far and the other has yielded around 30-40. i started 2 of them too late. i might try another 3 next year and overwinter my current batch so i have 6 for next year but that will be pushing the limit of what i can grow in my kitchen.

#Chri5# · 30 Aug 2019 at 15:59

South Devon Chilli farm is worth a visit if you're close. It's not some huge factory farm (hence not supermarket cheap) but the display polytunnels are very impressive with the variety & colour.

If you have a greenhouse or conservatory, I'd say growing chillies is quite easy. Last summer was epic for returns for me, this year has been slower but I've started picking now. All grown from seed (from SDCF) - started in a heated propagator around February, potted on as needed and eventually moved to the greenhouse. I feed weekly with Chilli Focus feed and water as needed. They take less time to look after than the tomatoes in the greenhouse as there's no side shoots to remove and they generally don't supporting.

Flaevius · 30 Aug 2019 at 21:04

soulhunter123 said:
What did you order from the site?

Bullets, Guajillos, Kashmiris and some Padrons.

I thought the prices were relatively reasonable. I usually baulk at most of these online specialist food stores, but £1.95 for a pack of 60-odd bullets is good value compared to what you'd pay from a supermarket, particularly dried where you don't have wastage. Plus the ability to buy rarer chillies. The only quibble is that it's a bulk order kind of place, as with £3.75 postage it doesn't make sense to make frequent small orders.

Thanks for the recipe. I do love a chicken enchilada, and will definitely give that a shot once I have an ancho or two to-hand.

soulhunter123 · 30 Aug 2019 at 23:01

#Chri5# said:
If you have a greenhouse or conservatory, I'd say growing chillies is quite easy. Last summer was epic for returns for me, this year has been slower but I've started picking now. All grown from seed (from SDCF) - started in a heated propagator around February, potted on as needed and eventually moved to the greenhouse. I feed weekly with Chilli Focus feed and water as needed. They take less time to look after than the tomatoes in the greenhouse as there's no side shoots to remove and they generally don't supporting.

I have a couple of plants; one with birds' eye and one with basic capsicum. However I find they don't grow as quickly as I'd like and they don't get very large. Probably the UK climate.