Chile Pasilla Asado Relleno de Queso Ranchero

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cast iron comal or heavy steel comal darkened from use
• •Volcanic stone molcajete or blender used with restraint
• •12-inch low clay cazuela from the Guanajuato sierra or a heavy skillet
• •Flame diffuser for cooking with clay
• •Tongs and a small sharp knife for opening the chiles

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast the pasillas

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Wipe the chile pasilla with a clean towel, then toast each chile for 8 to 12 seconds per side, pressing lightly with tongs so the skin touches the comal. They should turn fragrant, with a dark raisin smell, not blacken. Pasilla is thin. Look away and you will burn it.

   Buy chile pasilla mexicano, the dried chilaca, long and wrinkled. Do not buy fresh poblanos mislabeled as pasilla by a supermarket. That mistake changes the dish before you start.
2. 2

   Soften and clean

   Place the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover with the hot water. Set a small plate on top to keep them submerged. Soak 15 to 18 minutes, until they bend like soft leather but are not falling apart. Lift them out, pat dry, then cut a slit from the shoulder to the tip of each chile. Remove the seeds and thick veins gently. Keep the stems attached when you can. Reserve 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid and taste it. If it tastes bitter, use fresh hot water in the salsa instead.

3. 3

   Roast the salsa

   On the same comal, roast the xoconostles whole, the jitomates, the garlic cloves, and a few slices of onion. Turn them as they blister. The jitomates should slump, the garlic skins should spot brown, and the xoconostle skin should dull and loosen. Peel the xoconostles, halve them, scrape out the seed cores, and chop the flesh. Peel the garlic. Xoconostle is the acid here. Lime is not the same thing.

4. 4

   Grind with chilcuague

   In a molcajete, pound the chilcuague with 1/2 teaspoon salt until it breaks down. Add the peeled garlic and oregano, then grind to a paste. Add the roasted jitomates, roasted onion, and chopped xoconostle. Work it into a rough salsa, loosening with a few spoonfuls of the reserved chile soaking liquid if needed. The chilcuague should tingle at the edge of the mouth, not take over the salsa. No me vengas con atajos. If you use a blender, pulse briefly and leave texture.

5. 5

   Refry the bayos

   Melt 1 tablespoon of manteca de cerdo in a clay cazuela or heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent. Add the frijoles bayos with their broth and the epazote sprig. Mash until thick but not dry, then salt to taste. Bayos are beige-tan and earthy. Pintos and negros are not the Bajío bean. La manteca es el sabor.

6. 6

   Asar the cheese

   Pat the queso ranchero batons dry. Rub the hot comal with a thin film of manteca. Set the cheese on the comal and brown it 30 to 45 seconds per side, just until it forms golden freckles and a firmer skin. Move it once. If your cheese collapses into a puddle, it is too fresh for stuffing. Use queso ranchero oreado next time, cheese dried overnight in the refrigerator so it behaves.

7. 7

   Fill the chiles

   Open each softened pasilla carefully. Tuck in one epazote leaf, one baton of asado queso ranchero, and a few onion crescents. Close the chile around the filling without forcing it. This is a side dish from the rancho table, not a swollen battered main course. The chile should still look like a chile.

8. 8

   Finish in manteca

   Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons manteca in a wide skillet or clay cazuela over medium-low heat. If using clay over direct flame, use a diffuser. Lay the stuffed chiles seam side down and cook 2 minutes, then turn once. Spoon the xoconostle salsa over and around them, cover, and cook 3 to 4 minutes more, just until the chile skins are glossy and the cheese is hot at the center. No capeado. That belongs to another family of chiles rellenos.

9. 9

   Serve in barro

   Spread the frijoles bayos refritos in a low barro cazuela. Nest the stuffed pasillas over the beans and spoon more xoconostle salsa across the top. Finish with the crumbled queso ranchero, a few raw onion crescents, and small epazote leaves. Serve family-style with warm corn tortillas. Flour tortillas are a northern tradition. This table is Guanajuato. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •The pasilla must be flexible, dark, and fragrant. If it cracks like old paper, it has been sitting too long. A stale chile gives you stale flavor, no matter how careful your hands are.
• •Xoconostle is not optional for this Bajío version. Look for the pale green prickly pear with a pink center in Mexican markets. A squeeze of lime gives acid, yes, but it does not give the dry, mineral tartness of xoconostle. That is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Chilcuague is strong. Use a tiny amount. The root should make the salsa lightly tingle, not numb the whole mouth. Do not replace it with ginger. Ginger is ginger. Chilcuague is Sierra Gorda.
• •Use frijoles bayos, not pintos and not black beans. Also, do not call these frijoles puercos. Hidrocálido frijoles puercos from Aguascalientes and the sinaloense version are separate preparations. Here the bean is refried in manteca so the chile stays in front.
• •Queso ranchero oreado means the cheese has dried slightly. Put it uncovered on a plate in the refrigerator overnight if yours is very wet. A wet cheese will collapse before the chile reaches the table.

Advance Preparation

• •The queso ranchero can be oreado one day ahead by leaving it uncovered on a plate in the refrigerator overnight. Pat it dry before griddling.
• •Frijoles bayos can be cooked up to two days ahead. Refry them the day you serve the chiles so the manteca stays glossy and fresh.
• •The xoconostle salsa can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Bring it to room temperature before spooning it over the chiles.
• •The pasillas can be toasted, soaked, cleaned, and stuffed up to four hours ahead. Keep them covered in the refrigerator and finish them in manteca just before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 235g)