I occasionally buy achiote from the local carniciera. I get it in bars, almost like soap. Break it up and use it as a base for a rub on fish, like tuna or white seabass, before grilling. Good.
well, this new south american restaurant i'm addicted to uses it both as a rub and as a glaze for a few of their dishes.
the executive chef stopped-by after i questioned the waiter over & over, and he told me that achiote is basically a substitute for lime juice in his glaze.
huh?
when i asked the EC for his recipe using achiote, he just looked at me like this:
and said that ALL of his recipes were hand-me-downs from grandma.
well, i'll just experiment with it for now with some shrimp and on some pan seared tilapia.
i'll post-up the recipes if i think it's a decent concoction.
here's my starting point for the glaze:
- 1 teaspoon achiote paste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups honey
- 2 tablespoons water
directions: mix all together and thin-down with more water if necessary.
i've got access to some SUPERIOR quality honey here in texas, so i'll do my best to make this experiment worthwhile.
btw, i got this recipe from doing a google search on "achiote glaze."