Veracruz Stuffed Chipotles (Chiles Rellenos Jarochos)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cast iron comal for roasting jitomate, onion, and garlic
• •Wide clay cazuela for the jitomate, olive, and caper sauce
• •Deep heavy skillet for frying
• •Small sharp knife for opening the chipotles
• •Blender

Instructions

1. 1

   Soften the chipotles

   Put the chipotle meco chiles in a bowl with the hot water, piloncillo, vinegar, and salt. Weight them with a plate so they stay submerged. Soak 45 to 60 minutes, until the skin bends without cracking. The piloncillo and vinegar do not make the chile sweet. They tame the smoke and help the flesh soften.

   Use chipotle meco, not canned chipotle en adobo. The canned chile is already sauced and too soft for stuffing. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
2. 2

   Open and clean

   Drain the chiles and save 1 cup of the soaking liquid. With a small knife, cut one slit down the side of each chile. Remove the seeds and veins gently with your fingers or a small spoon. Do not rinse away all the chile flavor. Pat the chiles dry and set them open on a tray.

3. 3

   Start the picadillo

   Melt 2 tablespoons manteca de cerdo in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the beef and cook until it loses its raw color and begins to brown at the edges. Add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion turns translucent and the pan smells rounded, not sharp. La manteca es el sabor, especially in picadillo.

4. 4

   Build the filling

   Add the chopped jitomate, diced platano macho, raisins, almonds, chopped olives, chopped capers, cinnamon, clove, black pepper, and 1/2 cup beef broth or water. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often, until the plantain softens, the raisins swell, and the mixture is moist but not wet. Taste for salt. The filling should be sweet, salty, smoky, and sturdy enough to hold inside a chile.

5. 5

   Roast the sauce base

   Roast the 4 jitomates, onion, and garlic on a comal until blistered and blackened in spots. Blend them with 1/2 cup of the reserved chile soaking liquid until smooth. Do not add the chipotle seeds unless you want a sauce that shouts over the filling. Veracruzano food has balance. Not all Mexican food is trying to burn your mouth.

6. 6

   Cook the sauce

   Melt 1 tablespoon manteca de cerdo in a cazuela over medium heat. Pour in the blended jitomate sauce. It will sputter. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, until the color deepens and the fat leaves tiny glossy beads on the surface. Add sliced olives, capers, hoja santa if using, bay leaf, and 1 cup chicken broth or water. Simmer 12 minutes. Remove the hoja santa and bay leaf before serving.

7. 7

   Stuff the chiles

   Fill each softened chipotle with 2 to 3 tablespoons picadillo, depending on the size of the chile. Close the edges around the filling and secure with a toothpick if needed. Do not overfill them. A chile relleno should look generous, not like it burst because the cook got impatient.

8. 8

   Beat the batter

   Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold firm peaks. Beat the yolks separately, then fold them into the whites with a light hand. This capeado is what protects the chile in the hot fat. Heavy batter makes a greasy coat. Proper egg batter clings, puffs, and stays tender.

9. 9

   Fry the chiles

   Heat the oil or manteca de cerdo in a deep skillet to 350F. Dust each stuffed chile lightly with flour, shake off the excess, dip it in the egg batter, and lower it into the fat seam side up. Fry 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden and puffed. Work in batches. Crowding the pan drops the temperature and makes the batter heavy.

10. 10

    Bathe and serve

    Set the fried chiles into the warm jitomate, olive, and caper sauce. Spoon sauce over the top and let them sit 3 minutes so the batter drinks a little of the sauce without collapsing. Serve family-style in the cazuela with warm corn tortillas and black beans. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Buy chipotle meco from a chile vendor who sells them whole, flexible, and fragrant. If they smell dusty or look cracked to pieces, leave them there. Si no conoces el mercado, no conoces la cocina.
• •The picadillo must be dry enough to mound on a spoon. If it is loose, cook it longer before stuffing. Wet filling tears the chile and ruins the batter.
• •Hoja santa is called acuyo in Veracruz. Use it lightly. One leaf perfumes the sauce. Three leaves bully it.
• •Serve these with black beans, not pinto beans. Pinto belongs more to the north. Veracruz gives you frijol negro, corn tortillas, and a cazuela on the table.

Advance Preparation

• •The picadillo can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Bring it to room temperature before stuffing so it does not chill the chiles from the inside.
• •The jitomate sauce can be made one day ahead. Reheat it gently and add a splash of broth if it thickens too much.
• •The chipotles can be soaked, cleaned, and held covered in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Pat them dry before stuffing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 530g)