Green Chile and Chorizo Bread or Barbarian Bing Bread

Are you ready? It seems that the last few weeks has found our Hatch chile friend, Preston, making the rounds. Lately, I’ve seen so many chile recipes out there and now there is one more. Mine also contains the home made chorizo that I mentioned in my last post but one could also use store bought. Just don’t skip the Hatch chilies. I never say no to chilies even though my freezer is still full from fall, when I went over to Federal and bought a bushel. And yes, those were Big Jim’s, too!  I love chilies, but having them arrive on your doorstep already cleaned, is pure luxury. It saves so much time.Time that I can devote to cooking!

Yes, we all know that the Super Bowl is coming up. I know who is not playing in it, but I have no clue who is. Truthfully it matters not to me, though it does give me a great opportunity to eat good junk food-versus junk food that is bad. Know what I mean? Of course I’ve never really tasted junk food that is that bad, because what makes junk food junk, is that it’s good. Or so it seems. Glad we’ve got that cleared up!

Recently Bon Appetit had a little blurb on their web site that linked to a restaurant in Chicago that makes Bing bread. What, you might ask is bing bread? Well, I didn’t know either until they told me that it is similar to the Chinese scallion bread, that I love. It can be sweet or savory and is commonly served for breakfast. Let’s just say that Manservant did eat this for breakfast. And lunch and dinner, often accompanied with a fried or poached egg on top and some beans on the side.

Bing is short for Shaobing and this is a Northern Chinese dish that isn’t very common in the South. It may be related to na’an or pita and one translation called it a barbarian bread. I love that. “Hey man. Let’s have some barbarian bread to go with our yak milk tonight.” I’ve made it before but I’ve never upped the amps like this, which is all thanks to the restaurant in Chicago and Preston who sent me the chilies. My mind does work in odd ways.

Now if you think I’ve upped the amps, I must mention that the original recipe from Chicago contains a pound of bacon and two cups of white cheddar cheese. Sounds fab to me, but like I said-these chilies were on my doorstep and the chorizo was in the fridge. So let’s get this straight. I’ve created a fusion bread. Yes, a Chinese bread filled with a New Mexican filling, that will easily step in for the ubiquitous stromboli or pizza on game day. Got it?

The bread is easy to make, though you must allow a bit of time. It is filled to the brim with chilies and chorizo. Throw in some cheese and potatoes and scallions.Top with a great sun dried tomato butter. Or you could also try a green chile butter or an ancho butter. I’ve got you covered! This makes two breads which slices into about 12 dense wedges. And the filling, which is great in the bread, also works great for quesadillas or tacos. You could stir it into scrambled eggs or spoon it over baked potatoes. Perfect for breakfast burritos, too. My mind just isn’t holding tight today!

Feel free to check out my other green chile postings. And if you ran short on chiles this season, do order from Preston. He makes it easy. Check out his Facebook page for more great recipes. Remember if you aren’t a football lover, you can always cook on game day and be assured a hungry crowd. Preferably one that loves green chilies and barbarian bread. But I’d skip the yak milk!

Green Chile Chorizo Bread
Serves 12
Adapted from: The Parachute, Chicago
Time to Make: About 60 minutes active time

Ingredients:
1 package active dry yeast

• 2 T  sugar
• 2½ t kosher salt, divided
• 4 c all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
• 1 large russet potato, unpeeled, cut into ½” pieces
• 3 T vegetable oil, divided
• 1 pound chorizo, cooked and blotted dry
• 1 lb chopped Hatch green chilies, drained
• 8 oz  cheddar, grated (about 2 cups)
• 1½ c thinly sliced scallions
• Your favorite butter for topping
• Directions:

• Combine yeast, 2 Tbsp. sugar, 2 tsp. salt, and 2 cups very warm (but not hot) water in a large bowl, whisking to dissolve. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add 4 cups flour and mix with a wooden spoon until dough comes together in a shaggy ball with only a few dry spots of flour remaining. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, 50–70 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°. Toss potato with 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil and remaining ½ tsp. salt on a rimmed baking sheet and roast, tossing once, until potato is golden brown and soft, 15–20 minutes; let cool and then mix in bowl with chorizo mixture.
• While potato is roasting, cook chorizo in a frying pan until fat is rendered and chorizo is a touch crisp. Save grease to brush on dough rounds. Place chorizo in a large bowl and mix in drained chilies, grated cheese, scallions and roasted potato.
• Once dough has doubled in size, gently punch down and transfer to a generously floured surface. Knead, adding more flour a tablespoonful at a time if dough is very sticky, until smooth (dough should be very soft, pliable, and slightly sticky).
• Divide dough in half. Flour surface generously. Cover 1 piece of dough with plastic so that it doesn’t dry out. Roll out the other piece of dough, adding more flour as needed to prevent sticking, to a 13″ round about ¼” thick. Sprinkle with half of chorizo/chile mixture.
• Roll up dough like a jelly roll. Pinch together seam and each end to seal, then gently squeeze and press from the center toward the ends to elongate the roll slightly and even out thickness.
• Starting from one end, coil roll (like a rope) to form a large spiral. Gently flatten spiral with your hand to form a 9″ circle, sprinkling with lightly with more flour to prevent sticking if needed. Cover and repeat with remaining dough