Jalapeño, meets Fresh Three Pea, and Shrimp chiles Stir-Fry SWEET VEGETABLES Many fresh chiles When H are so hot that their flavor gets blunted by the burn. But vegetables that are high in natural sugars have an amazing taming effect. Pair the two and sud- denly chiles become brighter, less fiery— you can actually taste the layers of SWEET flavors. Peas, sweet bell peppers, and zucchini are excel- lent springtime and summertime matches, and butter- nut squash and root veggies like beets, rutabagas, and pars- nips work perfectly in the fall and winter. DELICIOUS THINGS A HAPPEN, WHICH IS WHY THIS DYNAMIC DUO HAS ROOTS IN CUISINES AROUND THE WORLD. HEAT INTENSIFIES THE FLAVORS OF SWEET INGREDIENTS, WHILE SUGARS TAME SPICY SIMMERED GRILLED FOODS AND HIGHLIGHT Blau Bette styling by Jamie Kimm; prop by styling Food CUT THEM IN HALF T SET THEM OVER RAW AND STIR INTO FRIED THEIR FRUITY NOTES. THE HOT COALS 4 ways CHOP IN SALSAS, BRAISES ALONG SLICE INTO WHOLE, THEN SLICE HERE, PERFECT PAIRINGS SHAVE INTO SALADS, WITH ONIONS OR STIR-FRIES OR AND TOSS WITH AND THE INFINITE WAYS to eat BLEND INTO SUBMERGE WHOLE A QUICK VEGETABLE OTHER GRILLED VINAIGRETTES. ONES INTO STEWS SAUTÉ. YOU CAN PLAY, FOR chiles VEGGIES OR PUT OR CHILIS (REMOVE DISHES YOU’LL WANT TO THEM ON BURGERS. CREATE ALL SUMMER... BEFORE SERVING). MAKE THAT ALL YEAR. By Genevieve Ko Photographs by Beth Galton PREP TIP To make fresh chiles milder, remove the seeds and slice out the ribs. Be sure to wear gloves—they’ll keep the peppers’ hot compounds from burning your skin. SHAPE.COM JULY/AUGUST 2017 195 Hot and Honeyed Dried chiles Stone Fruit Over MAPLE SYRUP Ricotta Give chile flakes a quick soak in maple, and they’ll soften while infusing the syrup with their heat. Even though the two share a rustic, from-the-earth flavor, they taste modern and complex when swirled together. We swear, this simple pairing will become your go-to condiment year-round. Pour Hot sauce HONEY The vinegary kick in hot sauce cuts through the intense sweetness of honey, adding it on a nice tanginess. Plus, it thins honey so it can be easily spooned over pretty much YOU’LL WANT TO anything. You can also stir it into a barbecue glaze, a grilling marinade, a salad dressing, DRIZZLE THIS SPICY a crudité dip, a sandwich spread, almond butter, or your evening cocktail. SYRUP OVER EVERYTHING. ASIDE FROM THE OBVIOUS (HELLO, WAFFLES!), TRY IT ON THESE SURPRISES: SCRAMBLED EGGS AVOCADO TOAST Grilled Spicy KALE SALAD Teriyaki Salmon CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICH Power couples DIFFERENT TYPES OF HONEY TASTE ESPECIALLY GREAT WITH VARYING GAZPACHO HOT SAUCE STYLES. THESE ARE A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE MATCHES. OF GRILLED PORK COURSE, YOU CAN EXPERIMENT WITH WHATEVER IS AT THE MARKET. CHOPS BUCKWHEAT HONEY + CAYENNE PEPPER SAUCE CHOCOLATE CLOVER HONEY + CHIPOTLE SAUCE SORBET ORANGE BLOSSOM HONEY + SRIRACHA TUPELO HONEY + HABANERO SAUCE COLOR COUNTS WILDFLOWER HONEY + HARISSA The brighter the chile flakes, the fresher they are. So go for the poppiest shade you can find. Maple syrup is START SMALL Hot sauce ranges from mild to graded by color. Grade A is lighter, with mind-blowingly hot. When mixing the two, start with a delicate sweetness, while grade B 1 part hot sauce to 10 parts honey. Taste and add is darker and more intense and robust. more heat bit by bit until you’re happy with the balance. 196 JULY/AUGUST 2017 SHAPE.COM SHAPE.COM JULY/AUGUST 2017 197 Ground chiles DRIED FRUIT When chiles are dried and ground, they pack even more heat. Dried fruit, which is supersweet and chewy when it’s dehydrated, stands up well to that Dried Eat’em concentrated fire and brings out the fruity notes of the chiles. The range of flavors in dried fruit—from winey raisins to candy-like all day dates—makes for delicious meals and desserts. BREAKFAST: chiles SPRINKLE CAY- ENNE, SNIPPED DRIED FIGS, AND PISTACHIOS OVER YOGURT. LUNCH: WHISK SMOKED HOT FRESH PAPRIKA AND CURRANTS INTO A SALAD FRUIT VINAIGRETTE. When whole chiles SNACK: SCATTER are dried, they HOT HUNGARIAN develop a richness Strawberry, PAPRIKA AND and a depth that Mango, SLICED DATES OVER bring out a fruity and Wax SWEET POTATO sweetness. As Bean Salad WEDGES. With Chile payback, the fruit Vinaigrette DINNER: SIMMER brightens the chiles’ GROUND ANCHO earthy intensity. CHILES AND RAI- Tart-sweet fruits SINS WITH GROUND like pineapples, BEEF, ONIONS, raspberries, AND TOMATOES. apricots, and plums work well with DESSERT: MIX extra-hot chiles CAYENNE AND like chiles de árbol, CHOPPED DRIED while sweeter MANGOES options like melons, INTO A CHERRY mangoes, peaches, PIE FILLING. and apples go with THROW WHOLE DRIED LITTLE CHILES INTO A STIR-FRY OR SAUTÉ OF mellower choices PINEAPPLE-SHRIMP OR PLUM-PORK. like ancho chiles. DICE MILD, FRUITY ONES (SEE THE CHILE CHART ON PAGE 200 FOR THE KEEP IT New BEST MILD, MEDIUM, AND HOT VARIETIES) WITH MANGOES AND Cranberry-Paprika SHALLOTS FOR A MORE FLAVORFUL SALSA. FRESH Grilled Chicken With Summer twists Ground chiles Squash and Avocado PUREE MEDIUM-HOT CHILES WITH RIPE PEACHES FOR A SHRIMP can go stale on the COCKTAIL DIPPING SAUCE. after a few two SCATTER SLIVERED MILD VERSIONS AND LIME ZEST OVER WATERMELON. years, so buy SIMMER CRUMBLED MILD CHILES WITH BERRIES OR NECTARINES AND small jars. SUGAR FOR A SPICY JAM. Store them away from heat and light to preserve PREP TIP Small chiles can be used dry, but big ones should be soaked liveliness. whole in very hot water first. Once tender, remove the stems. 198 JULY/AUGUST 2017 SHAPE.COM SHAPE.COM JULY/AUGUST 2017 199 Chile flakes Your Aleppo pepper brick red with a medium heat and tart pop Crushed red pepper flakes medium heat Espelette pepper mild and smoky in tiny flakes chile Ground chile Cayenne pepper versatile and guide very hot These hot Hot Hungarian things pair paprika medium heat with a especially Dried chiles sweet pepper taste well with Anchos wrinkly, stout, dark brown, the sweet and mild with a dried-fruit and Hot smoked tomato-like sweetness paprika (pimenton) stuff. We medium heat suggest Chiles de árbol small, thin-skinned, with a wood- you keep and red with a sharp, strong heat fired depth Guajillos smooth, brick red, and long a stash with a versatile medium heat Hot sauce on hand at Huy Fong Foods Sriracha garlicky Noras crimson balls with a fruity heat that squirts like ketchup all times. mildness and juicy flesh (after you soak them) Mina Harissa aromatic mild to hot tomato-sauce-like spread Pasillas wrinkly, red-brown, and mild with a grassy sweetness Lottie’s Traditional Barbados Yellow Hot Pepper Sauce hot with habaneros and a mustard kick Rancho Gordo Felicidad Chipotle Sauce smoky medium heat with richness from pumpkin seeds Tabasco sharp and hot workhorse with a liquid consistency GET THE RECIPES Scan here for the easy Fresh chiles Bottled beauties instructions Habaneros round Poblanos dark Scotch bonnets Thai thin and These ready-made options strike just the to make the and thin- green, heart- wrinkly little small, green right balance between sweet and heat. dishes on skinned, shaped, and bulbs with or red, and these pages. scorching big with a a good superhot with heat with fruity mildness amount of a little tang Gochujang This classic Korean chile paste gets natural sweetness from glutinous rice and fermented soybeans. hints of spiced heat o k A d Stir it into marinades, sauces, and stews. o va tropical fruit Red fingers long, -C n e t tapered, and Serranos green a m Mike’s Hot Honey It’s infused with chile and balanced with g o Jalapeños green glossy red and perky e vinegar for a sauce that’s ideal for drizzling. or red, thick- with medium with a bright, H skinned, and heat and sharp, mild with a bell tomato flavor medium heat Trees Knees Spicy Maple Made with a mix of chiles, this blend is pepper scent notes as good roasted with vegetables as it is grilled with chicken. 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