Escabeche Poblano Conventual

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Dry comal or open flame for roasting chiles
• •Wide clay cazuela or heavy stainless pan
• •Clean glass jars with tight lids
• •Wooden spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Roast the poblanos

   Roast the chiles poblanos directly over a gas flame, under a broiler, or on a dry comal, turning until the skins blister and blacken in patches. Put them in a covered bowl for 10 minutes so the skin loosens. Peel them with your fingers, not under running water. Water washes away flavor. Open each chile, remove the seeds and veins, and cut the flesh into wide rajas.

2. 2

   Soften the aromatics

   Warm the olive oil in a wide clay cazuela or heavy pan over medium-low heat. Add the white onion, garlic, and carrot. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the onion turns glossy and flexible but does not brown. This escabeche should taste clean and perfumed, not fried dark.

3. 3

   Build the brine

   Add the vinegar, water, salt, piloncillo, bay leaves, peppercorns, allspice, cloves, thyme, marjoram, oregano, and jerez if using. Bring to a quiet simmer and cook for 5 minutes. The vinegar should smell sharp but not violent, and the herbs should open in the oil. That is the conventual register: Spanish vinegar and herbs made useful by a Mexican chile.

4. 4

   Add the rajas

   Fold in the roasted poblano rajas gently so they stay broad and intact. Simmer for 3 minutes only. You are seasoning the chile, not cooking it to pieces. Taste the brine. It should be salty, tart, lightly sweet, and herbal. If it tastes flat, add salt. If it tastes harsh, let time do its work. No me vengas con atajos.

5. 5

   Jar and rest

   Pack the rajas, onions, carrots, garlic, herbs, and spices into clean glass jars. Pour the hot brine and oil over them until everything is submerged. Tap the jars to release trapped air. Cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving. The next day the chile will have absorbed the vinegar and the oil will sit in golden beads across the surface.

6. 6

   Serve as sauce

   Serve this as a condiment, not as the main dish. Spoon the rajas, onions, and brine over cold roasted meats, tortas de cuaresma, beans, egg dishes, or the criollo-conventual main dish it is meant to dress. Keep the herbs and peppercorns visible in the jar. Puebla understood that preservation could still be beautiful. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Buy heavy, dark green chiles poblanos with firm shoulders and glossy skin. If the poblanos are thin and tired, make something else that day. The mercado decides the menu.
• •White wine vinegar gives a cleaner convent-style escabeche than harsh industrial vinegar. If you use cane vinegar, use a good one and taste carefully. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •The jerez is optional only because not every pantry has it. In a Puebla conventual register, it makes sense: Spanish wine, vinegar, spices, and local chiles working in the same jar.
• •This is refrigerator escabeche, not shelf-stable canning. Keep the chiles submerged, use clean utensils, and refrigerate.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the escabeche at least 24 hours ahead. The flavor is sharper on day one and better on day two.
• •It keeps refrigerated for up to 2 weeks as long as the chiles stay submerged and you use a clean spoon each time.
• •For a holiday table, roast and peel the poblanos one day ahead, then build the brine and jar everything the next morning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 120g)