Cocktail Confessions

Found to season and color an increasing number of dishes in Latin American, Jamaican, and Filipino cuisines, recado rojo, aka ‘achiote paste’, is becoming quite popular.  While it has it’s own distinct and unique flavor, it was primarily used to color foods as a substitute to the more expensive saffron.

Achiote paste or powder is a derivative of ground annatto seeds (aka bixin) that come from the fruit of the Bixa Orellana tree that is found in southeast asia and was brought to the America’s by the Spanish in the 17th century.  The spiny red fruit contains a capsule fulls of seeds, which when dried is a brown and hard.  When combined with other spices, this paste became very popular as an additive in numerous Latin American dishes.

In the states, you may recognize this ingredient in slow cooked pork dishes in Latin and Mexican dishes, often known as ‘al pastor’.  It has a rich, deep red color and often smoky and earthy taste.  It can also be found in the drink, tascalate, (Chiapas, Mex.) and conchinita pibil (spicy pork dish).

Okay, enough of the history lesson and National Geographic discussion.  Why do you care about any of this?  Well, chances are you won’t unless you find yourself playing drunk Jeopardy at a backyard BBQ and want to impress your guests with useless Cliff Clavin trivia.  People always like to know what they are eating, and I always find people think dishes taste better if they come to believe the background on the ingredients is a bit exotic and there is some additional preparation behind your work.

The recipe below is pretty easy to make once you have everything, and I think it is pretty versitile.  You can use it a wet rub when marinating pork, and even with some south of the border fishes (brush it on while grilling).  It can be used in slow cookers as a base broth, or added as a sauce topper to enchiladas, tacos, and what ever else you want.  It accompanies great with grilled pineapple.

There are a few various brands of achiote on the market in both paste and powder forms and can usually be found in Mexican specialty markets or neighborhood grocery stores.  You can also find it online.  However, if you want a fresh and powerful homemade taste, the I offer up the following easy recipe. (Please send me your own recipes and dishes and let me know how it turns out):

Ingredients:

• 5 TBS achiote (annatto) seeds
• 2 Tsp cumin seeds
• 1 TBS black peppercorns
• 8 whole allspice berries
• 1/2 Tsp whole cloves
• 3 habanero peppers, seeded (wear gloves and avoid eye contact)
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 8 cloves garlic
• 2 TBS coarse salt, (or sea salt, or kosher salt)
• 5 lemons, juiced
• 1 Tsp premium tequila

1. With a clean spice grinder, grind annatto seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, allspice berries, and cloves to a fine powder.
2. In a blender or food processor, mix the ground spices, habaneros, orange juice, vinegar, garlic, and salt.  Blend until smooth.  Mix in lemon juice and tequila.