Food

CHILE Y ELOTE CON CEBOLLA

By Lisa Sheppard

I am a big enthusiast for green chiles, especially combined with corn in any recipe. When I lived in New Mexico, September and October were the months when the cotton woods and aspen turned golden and the chile harvest arrived. The smell of fire-roasted green chiles perfumed the air with their spicy bite. Here in Mexico I have found my all-time favorite green chile, the Poblano. Large, fat, waxy tear drops, piled high in the market stalls, they bring flavor to almost everything savory. Stuffed with picadillo en Chiles en Nogada, or queso fresco for Chiles Rellenos they are glorious, mild, and muy sabroso. When I first came to old Mexico I mourned the loss of fresh sweet corn, with its pale kernels that squirt sugary juice when pressed hard with a thumbnail. Over the years I came to love the chewy kernels of tender young hard corn sold here as elote. Its sweetness is more subtle, the tenderness a bit more fibrous than say, Silver Queen sweet corn, but so fresh and full of flavor it has given me an outlet for my cravings. Corn on the cob is a treat when it comes to market packed high in wooden-sided trucks decorated with the green ears tucked into the upper rims of the side panels making a lovely design and advertising what the owner is selling. Just recently I put them into this simple combination of elotes and cebollas intriguing our Lupe into taking the recipe home for her family table.

Chile y Elote con Cebolla

Recipe feeds 4 hungry people
3 ears of corn
4 Poblano peppers
2 white onions
3⁄4 cup of stock
1 tb olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Roast the Poblano peppers over the open flame of a gas burner, charring each side and both ends to a dark brown/black, then place them inside a folded towel or a covered bowl to sweat and soften. Shuck the corn, and cut off their kernels, setting them aside in a bowl, (you can use the remaining cobs to flavor a chicken or vegetable stock). Peel and coarsely chop the onions. Take the chiles from their sweat and remove the core by cutting around the periphery of the stem and tugging out the ball of seeds attached to it. Slit one side of the chile and open it flat, scrape the charred skin off using an angled knife, you can use your fingers but the knife method is much more efficient and less messy. Turn the chile over and remove any remaining seeds and fibrous ribs. Slice and cut the chile in 1/4 –1/2 inch squares. You do not have to be accurate with this size it is just a suggestion. Sauté the onions in the olive oil until they begin to go limp, and then add the corn and chiles, stirring for another 2-3 minutes or until the onions are translucent and completely limp. Pour in the stock, cover the pot and turn down the heat to low, simmer until the corn in just tender and most of the liquid is evaporated. Season to your taste with salt and pepper.

This can be used as a side dish or a taco filling, or for the more adventurous a tamale stuffing.

RAJAS CON CREMA

Serves four with warm tortillas
2 good sized pobano chiles
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
1⁄2 teaspoon chicken stock granules
100 ml water
100 ml sour cream
Warm corn tortillas to serve

Char the poblanos directly over a flame, or in the barbecue, until the skin is completely black. Immediately put in a plastic bag and leave for 10 minutes. During this time the steam from the bag will loosen the skins of the chiles. Now peel the charred skins off, discard the seeds and the membranes, and cut the flesh into long thin strips.

Heat the oil in a pan, and when hot, add the onions, and cook, over moderate heat, until transparent. Now add the chile strips and fry for 1 minute. Sprinkle the chicken stock granules into the pan, add the water, stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Now uncover, raise heat to medium and dry off some of the liquid. Add the cream and stir to combine. Serve over warm tortillas.

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