COOKING WITH HABANERO RECIPES

Steps:

• Roast jalapenos over a grill or gas burner until completely blackened. Seal in a plastic bag or a bowl covered with plastic wrap, and allow to steam until skins are loosened. When cool, remove skin, stem, and seeds.
• Place jalapenos, onions, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper into the bowl of a blender or food processor. Pulse to chop and blend, then pour into a large bowl, and mix with the can of green chiles, cilantro, and lime juice. Pulse the tomatoes in batches to desired size, and add to green chile mixture.
• Return one cup of chopped tomatoes to the blender along with the habanero, and puree well. Strain the puree to remove any large pieces of habanero, and add to the tomatoes. Mix well, cover, and chill in the refrigerator at least one hour to allow flavors to blend.

Steps:

• Prepare the obe ata: Working in batches if needed, combine all the obe ata ingredients except the canola oil in a blender and purée on high until smooth. The liquid from the can of tomatoes should suffice, but you can add up to 1/4 cup of water if necessary to get the purée going. (You should have about 3 cups of purée.)
• Heat the 2 tablespoons canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Add the purée and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer until the sauce is slightly reduced by about a third of its original volume, 18 to 20 minutes. (It should make about 2 cups. Obe ata can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks, or frozen for up to 1 month.)
• Prepare the rice: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the 1/2 cup canola oil in a large Dutch oven over medium until shimmering, about 1 minute. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove half the onions to a plate and set aside. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste, turmeric and smoked paprika, if using, and toast, stirring occasionally, until turmeric is fragrant and tomato paste has deepened to a dark red color, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in the obe ata sauce and bring to a simmer over medium heat. The habanero oils love to disperse in the air, so you may want to turn on your stovetop fan or open a window while simmering the obe ata. Stir in the rice, thyme and bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the stock and cover with a lid. Transfer the pot to the oven and cook until rice is just tender, 35 minutes.
• Remove the pot from the oven and let sit, covered (no peeking) for 15 minutes. Uncover, fluff the rice with a fork and stir in the reserved sautéed onions. Adjust seasoning, if necessary, and discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Serve warm.