Chiles Rellenos de Picadillo Vegetariano de Vigilia

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cast iron comal or open gas flame for roasting poblanos
• •Wide skillet for the vegetable picadillo
• •Blender and fine-mesh strainer for the caldillo
• •Hand mixer or balloon whisk for the capeado
• •12-inch shallow cazuela or wide saucepan for bathing the chiles in caldillo
• •Talavera serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Roast the poblanos

   Roast the chile poblano directly over a gas flame or on a hot comal, turning until the skin blisters and blackens in patches. Do not cook them until they collapse. You need the flesh flexible enough to peel, but strong enough to hold the filling. Put them in a covered bowl for 10 minutes so the skins loosen.

2. 2

   Peel and clean

   Peel off the blistered skins with your fingers. Make one careful slit down the side of each chile and remove the seed cluster with a small spoon, keeping the stem attached. Rinse only if you must. Water steals flavor. Pat them very dry because wet chiles make the batter slide off.

3. 3

   Build the picadillo

   Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and cook until they lose their raw edge and the juices thicken. Add the carrot first, because it is the hardest vegetable, and cook 5 minutes. Add the zucchini, calabacita, and corn. Cook until tender but not mushy. This is picadillo, not vegetable paste.

4. 4

   Season the filling

   Stir in the almonds, raisins, olives, capers, cinnamon, clove, salt, and pepper. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, until the raisins plump and the filling smells sweet, salty, and sharp all at once. That Old World pantry is the architecture of convent cooking. It is not decoration. Fold in the parsley and let the filling cool completely.

   The filling must be cool before stuffing. Hot filling softens the chile and weakens the egg batter. No me vengas con atajos.
5. 5

   Make the caldillo

   Blend the caldillo tomatoes with the onion, garlic, and broth until smooth. Strain into a saucepan. Add the bay leaf, thyme, and salt. Simmer over medium-low heat for 18 to 22 minutes, until the sauce turns from raw pink to cooked red and lightly coats a spoon. Taste for salt. The caldillo should support the chile, not drown it.

6. 6

   Stuff the chiles

   Fill each poblano with the cooled vegetable picadillo. Close the slit gently and secure with a wooden toothpick if needed. Dust each chile lightly with flour and shake off the excess. The flour is glue for the capeado. Too much flour gives you a pasty coat, and a señora in Puebla would notice.

7. 7

   Whip the capeado

   Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks. Beat the yolks separately, then fold them into the whites with 1/2 cup flour. Work gently. The batter should be thick, airy, and pale yellow. This is the classic capeado: egg doing real work, not bread crumbs pretending to be Mexican.

8. 8

   Fry the chiles

   Heat 2 cups oil in a wide skillet to 350F. Dip one stuffed chile into the batter, coating it completely, and lower it into the oil seam side up. Fry 2 to 3 minutes per side, spooning a little hot oil over the top, until golden and set. Work in batches. Do not crowd the pan or the batter drinks oil.

9. 9

   Bathe in caldillo

   Transfer the fried chiles to a paper-lined tray for one minute, then place them in the simmering caldillo. Spoon sauce over the tops and cook 5 minutes so the batter absorbs a little tomato without falling apart. Serve in a shallow talavera dish with queso fresco and warm corn tortillas. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Buy poblanos that are broad, dark green, glossy, and heavy for their size. Skinny poblanos are fine for rajas, not for stuffing. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado.
• •This is a vigilia dish, so the frying fat is oil, not manteca de cerdo. That is not weakness. It is the rule of the abstinence kitchen. Use fresh oil and keep it hot.
• •Do not skip the raisins, olives, capers, cinnamon, and clove. That sweet-salty-spiced balance is what separates Pueblan convent picadillo from a plain vegetable filling.
• •If corn is out of season, use good frozen corn before you use old, starchy ears. If the market is selling tender calabacitas, let them lead. Mexican grandmothers cook with the market, not with a calendar printed in another country.

Advance Preparation

• •The vegetable picadillo can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Bring it to cool room temperature before stuffing so it does not tear the chiles.
• •The caldillo can be made two days ahead. Reheat gently before adding the fried chiles.
• •The poblanos can be roasted, peeled, seeded, and refrigerated one day ahead, wrapped in a clean towel inside a covered container. Pat them dry before filling.
• •Capeado chiles are best fried the day they are served. You can hold them in a 200F oven for 20 minutes, but longer than that and the batter loses its dignity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 450g)