Makes: 1 1/2 cups / Preparation time: 15 minutes / Total time: 30 minutes

This sauce is excellent as a marinade or glaze for slow-cooked pork, ribs, beef or grilled chicken. It will also enliven a pot of beans and give kick to tofu. You can adjust the heat by adding more or less chipotle.

Ingredients
4 to 8 medium chipotle chiles in adobe, about 1 can
5 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into small pieces or mashed
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 to 1/2 cup water or broth, depending on thickness desired in sauce as well as desired heat level
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the chipotle chiles, along with the sauce clinging to the peppers, in a food processor. Add the garlic, vinegar, olive oil, honey, water, vanilla and lime juice and puree until smooth.

Pour the mixture through a sieve to remove seeds and fiber.

Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

Place the mixture in a medium saucepan and bring it to almost a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the mixture rest until the it’s cool. This will keep, chilled, up to 1 week.

From “Vanilla: The Cultural History of the World’s Favorite Flavor and Fragrance” by Patricia Rain (Tarcher/Penguin, $22.95). Tested by Susan Selasky for the Free Press Test Kitchen. Analysis per 2 tablespoons. 48 calories (43% from fat), 2 grams fat (0 grams sat. fat), 8 grams carbohydrates, 0 grams protein, 44 mg sodium, 0 mg cholesterol, 3 mg calcium, 0 grams fiber.

Article from the Detroit Free Press