Achuete Oil
I was cooking sotanghon noodle soup when I realised that I do not have achuete oil to add colour and extra taste to my soup. I was gutted! Achuete oil and sotanghon go together like a horse and carriage. The oil not only reddens the soup or anything else that needs it but it also add a piquant taste to the food. It has that hint of heat as well as a smoky taste to it. Achuete oil is widely used in Spanish cooking.
So next time I am craving some sotanghon soup, I will make sure that my store cupboard has Achuete Oil. Lucky for me I saw that my local oriental shop is stocking annatto seeds, half the battle,methinks! 😉
All I have to think now is where to get ancho chile. Apparently Ancho chile comes from dried Poblano, which is a mild chili pepper, native of Puebla, Mexico.
Woah, after a quick googling, I found out that you can get the ancho chili powder in Tesco or can be widely ordered online.
That is sorted!
Store Cupboard Hero: Achuete Oil
Ingedients:
2 cups Vegetable oil
1/2 cup achuete/annatto seeds
1 head garlic
2 bay leaves
2 ancho chiles, crushed or 1 tsp Ancho chile powder
To make:
Using a good size sauce pan, pour in the vegetable oil and the rest of the ingredients.
Warm under a medium heat. When it starts to bubble, turn of the heat and leave the pan to one side allowing the ingredients to steep and cool down for at least a couple of hours.
The strain the oil using a fine mesh strainer straight into a big enough jar with a lid.
The oil can be left refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
Sarap.