Stuffed poblano peppers
with chipotle sauce
My first taste of this dish was in Cabo in Mama's Casa restaurant. It was stuffed with a ground pork mixture and drenched in a walnut creme sauce-this is now my version. Alter the filling ingredients as you like-substitute browned ground meats , crumbled chorizo sausage or cooked seafood for the pork, and rice, lentils or barley for the potatoes...the combinations are endless. A fruity salsa on the side is very nice.
8 large fresh poblano/pasilla peppers
2 lb. boneless pork shoulder or country style ribs
salt and pepper
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 small onion, finely diced
1/2 or so of a 28 ounce bag of frozen O'brien style potatoes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup raisins
Sauce:
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth/stock
1 can chipotles in adobo sauce
1-4 cup low fat milk or whole milk or cream
1 Tbsp. corn starch
Salsa:
1/2 cup red onion, small dice
1 avocado, small dice
2 Tbsp. cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
1/2 cup mango diced mango
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. honey
Preheat oven to 350. Mix the garlic powder, cumin, cinnamon and 2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper. Cut pork into 3X3 or so chunks, and season with the mixture, using it all up. Place in a smallish cassarole and cover. Roast in oven for about 2 hours until it is very tender. Remove, drain off juices, and allow to cool until you can handle it with your fingers.
Meanwhile, scorch peppers over highest gas flame or under broiler, turning frequently, until evenly blackened. Place in a paper grocery bag and go drink a glass of wine.
8 large fresh poblano/pasilla peppers
2 lb. boneless pork shoulder or country style ribs
salt and pepper
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 small onion, finely diced
1/2 or so of a 28 ounce bag of frozen O'brien style potatoes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup raisins
Sauce:
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth/stock
1 can chipotles in adobo sauce
1-4 cup low fat milk or whole milk or cream
1 Tbsp. corn starch
Salsa:
1/2 cup red onion, small dice
1 avocado, small dice
2 Tbsp. cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
1/2 cup mango diced mango
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. honey
Preheat oven to 350. Mix the garlic powder, cumin, cinnamon and 2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper. Cut pork into 3X3 or so chunks, and season with the mixture, using it all up. Place in a smallish cassarole and cover. Roast in oven for about 2 hours until it is very tender. Remove, drain off juices, and allow to cool until you can handle it with your fingers.
Meanwhile, scorch peppers over highest gas flame or under broiler, turning frequently, until evenly blackened. Place in a paper grocery bag and go drink a glass of wine.
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Place a paper towel on your work surface. Take one more paper towel in each hand, and gently use them to strip the blackened skin off the peppers. You can rinse them at this point and pat dry, but I don't like to do that, I think it takes away from that wonderful charred flavor. Make a long slit in one side of the pepper from stem to tip, open it with your fingers, and cut away any veins attached to the inside flesh. Then cut away the seedy core, removing it with your fingers. Clean the pepper out as best as you can.
Fry the onion in a large non-stick frying pan with the frozen potatoes over medium high heat until the hash is soft and the onions are browning, or the other way around is good too. Remove from heat and allow to cool some. Shred the cooled pork with your fingers, removing any fatty bits you don't want.
Mix pork, potatoes, cilantro and raisins gently in the pan. Stuff the peppers with the mixture using a spoon and your hands to press the stuffing into the peppers. Mold the peppers back in shape with your hands, and lay seam down on a cookie sheet. You can pre-make the peppers up to this point several hours ahead, or cover tightly and refrigerate for up to a day.
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Make sauce: in a small sauce-pan, bring the broth to a simmer and add adobo sauce and minced chipotles to it to your preference, starting with 1 Tbsp. adobo sauce and adding more from there. The chipotles are kick your teeth in hot so be careful. Simmer for 10 minutes on low heat. Desolve corn starch in milk and add to pan, bring back to a simmer and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring often, until thickened. Taste for salt. Do not overcook, the cornstarch will lose it's quality and your sauce will break (thin out). Keep warm on lowest heat, stirring often.
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Make salsa: small dice any ingredients you choose, such as honeydew or water melon, cantalope, papaya, even strawberries or kiwi-always include red onion and cilantro. Gently toss chopped ingredients, then dress and mix again. Refrigerate until needed.
Reheat peppers in oven for about 20-30 minutes. Serve on a puddle of sauce, or top with the sauce-spoon salsa on the side.
