Have you ever heard of chilaca (pronounced chee-lah-ka) chilies? They are a long green peppers, with a mildish to medium heat, that come from Mexico. This uniquely flavoured chile is perfect for so many traditional Mexican recipes, but also for using in any World cuisine when you want to add a little bit of heat.
Chilaca pepper is available both fresh and in dried pods. If you have the opportunity to taste it raw you should definitely do so. A great way to try out this chile for the first time, or even if you’re quite familiar with it, is in salsa.
If you’d like to know all about chilaca chiles then please head over to my Spicy Food column and read the following article, What Are Chilaca Chiles. Afterwards you can get the recipe for thes vibrant green salsa you see pictured here, Green Salsa Made with Chilaca Peppers.
If you have any of that salsa leftover you can use it to make a scrumptious chicken stew. The recipe is so easy that you’ll want to make it over and over again. The stew recipe is also perfect for your slow-cooker. Again you’ll find the recipe on my column, Chicken Stewed in Tomatillo-Chilaca Salsa and Served with Turmeric-Oregano Rice
Enjoy and have a beautiful weekend — stay warm too!
I wish I was where you are… warm.. sunny… beautiful! We are currently getting pounded with 2-3 feet of snow… it’s not a happy place…just freezing. Of course… some of chicken stew and chilaca pepper salsa can warm me up! :)
Hi Ramona! I heard about that massive storm and hope you guys made it out all right. We’ve actually been having cooler days than normal here, okay granted it is still in the 70s. Haha, it’s funny how quickly I’ve gotten used to that that’s cold. :)
This salsa looks spectacular. i wish i could get those chillies!
Thank you Tania! I wonder if they are imported to Australia at all? Hmm
uuuuu something new and very interesting :D
Hope you can give them a try. Thanks Marta!
I’ve heard of these, but never see them in the store. Probably I’m not looking hard enough! Great tip to try an unfamiliar chile in salsa first — really good idea.
They aren’t as common as jalapeños so you may have to look around, John. Good luck I hope you can find them as they are quite tasty. Thanks!:)
I’ll have to look out for these—not sure I’ve seen them around here. The salsa has such a wonderful green color to it…
I hope you find them Frank, because they do have a really nice and unique flavour. Thank you!