Rethink Your Chile Relleno!

On our recent trip to Mexico our friend, Bill Pecha, made a wonderful Oaxacan chicken dish with tomatoes, olives, raisins and almonds. The flavor was outstanding! It reminded me of a Moroccan tagine, layers of sweet and savory within a rich, creamy sauce. Vince and I loved it.

I should say that the reason we went to Mexico in the first place was to do a site inspection for our upcoming culinary tours! I'm so excited about this opportunity. We've put together a really cool package for a week-long stay with meals, tours and classes. It's going to be so much fun. Check out CulinariodeMexico.com when you can.

I had picked up a bunch of dried chiles at a mercado during our trip. I'm planning on teaching a cooking class on chiles during the culinary tour. There are so many different ones to try. I think it's a common misconception that all chiles are fiery hot but they aren't (especially if you removed the seeds and ribs/veins). Ancho chiles are good example of that. They have a rich, almost chocolaty sweetness.

After trying Bill's Oaxacan chicken dish I was reminded of a recipe that I'd been meaning to try. It's called Chiles Ancho Rellenos de Picadillo de Pollo which means ancho chiles stuffed with minced chicken. The original recipe was quite lengthy but it only took me about an hour to complete. Use your food processor, if you have one, for all the chopping. That really speeds the process. Anyway, without further adieu, here's the recipe:

Adapted from Savoring Mexico, Mariyn Tausend

Ingredients
Picadillo:
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
1 cup finely chopped white onion
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 lbs Roma tomatoes
1/4tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 pounds ground chicken or turkey
1/2 cup Castelvetrano or Manzanilla olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup capers, rinsed
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro, firmly packed
1/4 cup finely chopped italian parsley, firmly packed

Chiles:
8 large ancho chiles
4 oz piloncillo, grated or 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Sauce:
2 cups Mexican crema or sour cream
1/4 cup finely diced white onion
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup firmly packed cilantro, finely chopped

Directions
Core and quarter tomatoes. Place in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

In saucepan on medium, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute, add tomatoes, thyme and bay leaves and simmer for 15 minutes. Add raisins and cook for 10 minutes. Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high, heat remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add chicken, stirring constantly for 4 minutes until lightly browned. Stir in chopped tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the olives, almonds and capers. Remove from heat and let cool. Stir in cilantro and parsley*. Check seasoning for additional salt, if needed.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To prepare the chiles, leaving stem on, make lengthwise slit in each chile and remove seeds. (You can start the incision with a knife and use kitchen shears to complete the slit.) Put 4 cups of water in saucepan and add Piloncillo, cinnamon, vinegar and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add chiles, cover, remove from heat, and soak for 15 minutes. Transfer chiles to paper towels to dry.

Carefully stuff the chiles with the picadillo and place in baking dish. Cover and bake for 15 minutes, or until heated through.

While chiles are baking, in saucepan on medium-low, heat crema, onion and salt until warm but not boiling. Strain and add cilantro and keep warm. When ready to serve, pour sauce over the chiles.

*Note: The stuffing can be made in advance, adding the herbs when ready to stuff the chiles