Iron Chef - Chili Peppers

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Tesha challenged me to make her a meal that was a) composed of dishes unlike any she had eaten and b) spicy enough to challenge her Thai palate.


Last night, I made my attempt to satisfy her cravings.

First up was a salad composed of grilled, then chilled watermelon spears, warm, crispy Niman Ranch bacon, diced sweet red bell
pepper and paper thin slices of serrano chili peppers. The salad didn’t need much in the way of a dressing, but I added a little Roasted Yellow Pepper and Serrano Chili Dressing from Cindy’s Kitchen (which wasn’t that great to be honest) for color and moisture.

The individual components of the salad were as pleasant as you’d expect, but when eaten together they were an army of flavor, verging on being overpowering. Let’s just say it isn’t your parent’s salad. I particularly liked the interaction of the chilies and the watermelon, conducting their own symphony of sweet and heat; my go to flavor combination when creating new dishes. The salad wasn’t as tasty as the grilled peach and nectarine salad that I often make, but as those fruits are not yet in season, this was a pretty good substitute.

The second course was pan seared sea scallops (cooked in a bit of the bacon fat) with a jalapeno-apple cream sauce served over pan-fried grit cakes and roasted green beans. These were incredibly sweet scallops which jived very well with the spice of the cream sauce.
The sauce was made from a skinless diced Fuji apple and two finely minced jalapenos blended with ½ cup of half and half. I then poured the mixture into the scallop pan (cast iron) to deglaze, reduce by half and pick up some of the flavors left behind. It worked really well and you could adjust the heat based on your personal preference by adding additional pepper to the mixture.

The dessert portion of the meal was both the spiciest and tastiest portion of our dinner.

I took Trader Joe’s canned mangoes, rinsed off the light syrup in which they were stored, and rubbed them with a pinch of kosher salt and enough ancho chili powder to coat lightly. After macerating for two hours, I then grilled the mangoes in a cast iron grill pan until they were golden brown on both sides. The grilled fruit then went back into the refrigerator for an hour long chill.

To create the dessert, I placed three large mango slices in a bowl, topped with whipped cream and sprinkled some very finely minced habanero pepper over the top.

Not to toot my own horn, but this thing was fantastic. The mango and whipped cream had a wonderful mouth-feel when eaten together and the habanero added a burst of heat that played very well with the rich, sweet flavors of the grilled mango.

I don’t make dessert very often as I prefer to get my calories from savory foods, but this is one that I will be going back for over and over again. Especially because the cost of making one ($1 for the mango can, $.50 for ¼ can of whipped cream, 4 cents for small habanero pepper) ends up being about $0.75 a portion for an elegant, complex and delicious way to end a meal.

A text from Tesha today: "Thanks for dinner. It was incredible!!!"

Mission accomplished.