Poblanos Stuffed with Cheddar and Chicken

You say Poblano, I say Pasilla (Pah-SEE-YA).   They are one in the same, I recently discovered--at least, in California grocery stores.  (I found a blogger who clears up the confusion here.)  I love Mexican food, but I can't handle really a lot of spicy heat.  Poblano peppers are perfect, because they are rather mild once they are cooked.

My inspiration to make this recipe comes from "Fine Cooking."  The original recipe boasts that it's a quick (and great) way to use leftover chicken.  I didn't have any, and so I decided to make my own shredded chicken.  I chose chicken thighs, because they are a good price.  For flavor I added bay leaves, whole peppercorns and my homemade Mexican spice (you could use taco seasoning).  If you have a Trader Joe's near you, I like these reduced-sodium chicken flavor concentrates (no MSG).  You could use plain water, though.

I let the chicken simmer for about an hour, let it cook enough to pull apart and shred.  I saved the cooking broth. Done.

I cooked one cup of brown rice, using the chicken broth.  Mmmm, good.  (Set aside.)

Slit the chiles from stem to tip and set on the baking sheet. Broil, turning every few minutes, until blackened all over, 5 to 8 minutes. Let cool slightly, peel off the skins, and cut out the seed cores, leaving the stems on. Rather than turning the chiles inside out, a spoon cleaned out any remaining seeds.

The fresh tomato sauce was the best part of this recipe, IMO. It was so good, that I wish I had doubled it-- so, take my advice!

You need fresh cilantro.  If you hate cilantro, leave it out (or use parsley). 

I used fresh Roma  tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp. salt ...

..and pureed it in a food processor. 

Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the chicken and rice, and then 1 cup of the cheese, the cilantro, and the lime juice.

Season to taste with salt.  Delicious! 

Divide the filling among the peppers, wrapping the sides of the peppers up and around the filling, some of which will still be exposed.

Broil the peppers until the cheese is melting and the top is beginning to brown, about 4 minutes.

Top with the remaining 1 cup cheese and broil until the cheese is completely melted, about 2 minutes.

TASTING NOTES:  Because I made my own shredded chicken, this took about 2 hours to prepare.  Using leftover chicken and/or rice would definitely be a time saver. On the other hand, the shredded chicken was moist and flavorful.  The leftover filling for the stuffed peppers can be used to make burritos or even enchiladas.  As for the tomato sauce, I would make this part of the recipe again and again.  It was fresh tasting, and perfectly seasoned. The cinnamon was subtle, and the peppers weren't over-the-top hot. Love.  I served this recipe with black beans.  Muy Bueno.  I can see making this as a vegetarian dinner, by omitting the  chicken, and using black beans and rice as the stuffing.   I will, definitely, make this again.

 A printable recipe card is at the end of this post.

Enjoy!

 

Chicken Mole Torta (Mexican Chicken Sloppy Joes)

 Ever since I got hooked on food blogs, in 2008, I rarely watch Food Network.  One weekend morning, as I was folding laundry, I decided to click on Food Network.I've never watched "The Sandwich King" show (Next Food Network Star Winner "Jeff Mauro", Season 7).  Jeff was making a Chicken Mole Torta, and I found that episode reeled me into watching him make a dish I have never tried before.

Mole (Mo-Lay) sauce is something very unique, and there are countless versions of how it's made. It's a recipe that Latin American families take pride in, and many are family heirloom recipes.  I did a little research, and found a commonality in the traditional recipe ingredients-- chiles, sesame seed and/or almond, fruit, raisins and chocolate.  I also needed diced tomatoes, tomato paste,  chicken stock, garlic, onion, ground cinnamon and cloves. 

Chocolate and chili sauce?  Sounds a little weird, doesn't it?  That's exactly why I couldn't wrap my head around ordering a Mole sauce dish at a Mexican restaurant. Until now.  Ever since I became a "Food Blogger", I've opened up my palate to not shy away from trying new recipes.

I had just purchased Bone-In Chicken at Whole Foods.  It was Cinco de Mayo weekend, so the decision was made. I was going to make this recipe.  I already had most of  the ingredients, and was pretty confident it would be good-- especially after reading all the five star ratings.

 

All I needed to buy were the Ancho Chilis.  The Chilis were baked for a few minutes, then finely chopped and set aside.

I buy canned Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce, and I rarely use them all at once. Chipotle peppers are smoked jalapenos, and I will warn you-- they do pack a heat punch!   I love spicy food, but I have to tone down the heat.   So that I don't waste the chipotle peppers, I freeze portions into small containers; they are easier to chop, frozen, and I just toss them into my Mexican-themed recipes. 

 For this recipe, Jeff uses almond butter instead of finely ground almonds. 

The prep work took close to 30 minutes, as I carefully measured and chopped my ingredients (a printable recipe card is at the end of this post).  Once that work is done, the rest is pretty straight-forward, but it does require another 30 minutes of cooking and stirring.

Let's make Chicken Mole!

First, we toast the sesame seeds, and set them aside. Heat either peanut or vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add  onions, a couple pinches of salt and saute until soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. The reserved ancho chiles and minced chipotle are added, then cooked until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Now, for the the chocolate, cinnamon, cloves and garlic-- cook until the garlic is fragrant and the chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, almond butter, raisins and sesame seeds. Gently simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Place the mole into a blender and puree until smooth, about 1 minute. TIP: I much prefer to use an immersion blender, because it's one less kitchen gadget to clean. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. If using a blender, add the mole back to the Dutch oven. . 

Sprinkle the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper. Lay the chicken in the sauce in one layer, making sure each breast is entirely coated, and gently simmer, flipping once during cooking, until the breasts register 160 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside off the heat and let rest

Using your hands, remove the skin and meat from the bones and discard.

Shred the chicken into smaller chunks and place back into the mole to keep warm. Season if necessary.

At this point, you can serve this dish over brown rice, with a garnish of sour cream and fresh cilantro-- and an optional squeeze of lime juice.  Delicious!  This is how we enjoyed the leftovers on the following day.  However, I chose to serve this as a "Torta" or Mexican Sandwich.  In my previous posts, I shared how I made my own Mexican Bolillo Bread.  

Any kind of sandwich rolls, would make a good substitute.  Or, if you have a local Mexican bakery, buy a few and you won't regret it.  

To build this torta/sandwich you'll want shredded lettuce, sour cream, cilantro, lime slices (optional), tomatillo sauce and refried beans.  

On a previous post, I shared how I made the tomatillo (green salsa) sauce-- which was really easy to make and adds a perfect tangy and ever-so-subtle spice to the sandwich.  I debated on adding the refried beans-- for one thing, I do not like canned refried beans.  To me, there is something unappetizing about how they look, and I haven't found one brand that is palatable to my Mexican DNA.  However, I don't have a problem with keeping canned beans on hand-- they work great when I don't have the time to soak my own beans.  I decided to make black beans instead of pinto beans. Here's my quick way of making my own fast refried beans:

In a skillet, I simply add a can of black (or pinto) beans with the liquid.  Cook on medium high meat, so that the liquid will slowly evaporate. Mash and you're done in about five minutes!  You can add additional seasonings, to your liking-- such as cumin or chili powder. This time, I left them plain.

 

Slather some refried beans on the sandwich roll, then add a mound of chicken mole, and some extra mole sauce...

Add sour cream, add some queso fresco (which I didn't, because I forgot to buy some), and top with pickled jalapenos (which I didn't do, but I'm sure would have been great for heat-loving folks), then add some fresh cilantro (my favorite).

...drizzle with tomatillo sauce

Serve with a pile of napkins, a cold Corona beer (optional, but recommend for those of you who are over 21) and dig in!

TASTING NOTES:  Let's zero in on the mole sauce.  This is an alchemy of so many different ingredients, that you cannot distinguish  the independent flavors.  Not one single ingredient  over-powered the other.  It's a beautiful reddish-brown sauce, with a slightly nutty flavor and you cannot tell that there's chocolate as a surprised ingredient.  Sweet, spicy, nutty, slightly tomatoey-- just plain delicious!  Where have I been that I missed out on the wonderful flavor of mole?!  

As for the sandwich-- it's a messy affair, and one that my husband and I both enjoyed a lot. The next time I make this, I'm going to add a lot more heat to it by using an entire chipotle, and by making my own pickled jalapenos.  I had fun learning how to make my own Bolillos, but I really liked this recipe just as a stew, served over brown rice. 

You will find printable recipes for this mole at the end of this post.  If you are ambitious enough, I recommend making the bread and the tomatillo sauce.  Jeff Mauro-- I can see why Bobby Flay loved your recipes and why you were chosen as the winner.  You do have a knack for great flavor.  Well done!

 

Ridiculousy Easy Tomatillo Salsa Verde

I love tomatillo sauce.  I love the tartness of tomatillos, the spice of jalapeno, and a hint of garlic that is a welcome change from traditional red salsa.  Tomatillo sauce (or green salsa) is a key ingredient in making Enchiladas Verdes.

 While tomatillos look like green tomatoes, they aren't.  They actually related to cape gooseberries.

Most likely, your grocery store has them.  They're easy to over look. I mean, they have these dried looking husks-- and unless you know what to do with them, you'd never think of buying them.

Green salsa has so many possibilities.  We love to dip tortilla chips and devour them, with a cold beer.  I made this sauce for the Chicken Mole that I made, that was served on Mexican Bolillo bread rolls.

All you need is a pound of tomatillos (about 4), one jalapeno halved (I de-seeded it), two garlic cloves, salt & pepper and some vegetable (I used olive oil), fresh cilantro (optional) and a lime.   Season the veggies, drizzled with oil and toss and roast at 375F for about 20 minutes.

Toss everything into a food processor (or blender) and whirr away...

Much less expensive to make, than the bottled stuff.  

In my next post, I'm going to share how I made the Chicken Mole and talk about how drizzling this tomatillo sauce over it -- well, it just made the sandwich over-the-top delicious.  

I decided to share how I made tomatillo sauce recipe, on a separate post, because I wanted to keep this recipe as a stand-alone.  The next time you want to serve chips and salsa, try going a little "green".   It's a tad tart with just a bit of heat.  The best part? It's easy to make.  Just be sure to have tortilla chips hand. The combo is really addicting. I'm speaking from personal experience.

A printable recipe is at the end of the post or click here to view it.

  

Mexican Bolillo (Torta) Oval Rolls

I have often quipped that my breed is a "Bavarian Chihuahua".  When I was much younger, my hair was a dark brown color.  I have dark brown eyes (with flecks of green).  In the summertime, my skin would turn a dark golden color -- hence, my Mexican heritage (from my father) was believable.  Once my hair started to turn white, in my early twenties (and then  gave up the expensive trips to my colorist) I most resemble my mother's Bavarian genetics.  My fifteen years as an Esthetician has weaned me from the need to bake in the sun, slathered with baby oil and iodine-- now that I know about the high risk of skin cancer...and *cough* wrinkles.  Now, I'm lighter-skinned, and proud of it. But, that's another story.

Though my mother taught me how to make many of her German recipes, she could make a wicked good batch of enchiladas-- and I have since learned how to make them (and have yet to blog about them).  I love Mexican food.  Authentic Mexican food.  Not that kind that you find at fast food places.  Of course, I love tacos.  Fish, shrimp, chicken or beef.  It's all delicious.

For Cinco de Mayo (which really isn't Mexican Independence Day, but is observed to commemorate the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.  Still, it's a good excuse to feed my Mexican palate.

I wanted to make something other than more typical taco or enchilada Mexican fare.  I decided to make a Mexican Torta (sandwich).  Rather than finding a local Mexican bakery, I wanted to try making them myself.  Yeast, warm water and honey  is mixed together until foamy....

This is an optional not-so-secret ingredient.  I buy this product from King Arthur Flour.

I added 3-1/2 cups unbleached flour (King Arthur, of course) and then one tablespoon more at a time, until the dough didn't stick to the mixing bowl any longer.

You bread bakers know the drill... oil a bowl, add the dough, turn it over and then let rise for at least an hour.

Personally, I seem to get the best proofing results by turning my oven to WARM for 3 minutes, then turning it off.  Let's make Bolillos!

Photography and bread kneading isn't the best idea, as I'm still cleaning out bits of flour and dough.  I wanted rolls that are about 6"long, and I found that dividing the dough into 7 pieces worked out best for me.  To shape that torpedo end, this is how I used my hands, which seemed to get the job done.

Cover with a clean towel, and let rise for about 25 minutes.  As you can see, I like to use parchment paper instead of spraying a baking sheet with non-stick spray. Your choice.

To 1/4 cup of cold water, whisk in 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, and bring to a boil.

Boil until thickened and clear.

Brush onto each roll.

Me, the Gadget Queen, doesn't have one of those slick razors, for slashing bread.  So, I used a knife, which was a little tricker.  You want to cut in about 1/2" but don't run the knife-- I hand to use an up and down motion.  This slashing give the bread it's traditional look. (After researching several recipes, the majority of Mexican bakeries say that they slash the bread slightly off center. ) Small details.

These are baked at 375F for about 25 minutes; or until golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.

If my "Nana" could see me now.  My first Bolillo bread!

The bread has a beautiful texture-- slightly crusty on the outside, with a tender inside.  They are perfect for making "Tortas".

I will share the recipe for this Chicken Mole (MO-LAY) that  made, on my next post.

...that I drizzled with this homemade tomatillo sauce.

 For dessert, I made a Mexican Chocolate Flan. Any kind of custard is one of my favorite desserts, and this one was fantastic!

We had a terrific Cindo de Mayo dinner, though  I did spend a few hours in the kitchen, but I have an addiction to audible books.  I was listening to a really good "thriller" so it was an afternoon well spent.  The night is still young, and my it's Date Night.  

Psssssssst, it's supposed to be a beautiful full moon tonight.  

ase email me at foodiewife@gmail.com with your shipping address and I'll get this off to you ASAP!

The recipe for the Bolillos rolls is at the end of this post, or click here if you can't view it from my blog.