Pollo Poblano Recipes

POLLO CON MOLE POBLANO - CHICKEN IN MOLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat a shallow layer of oil in a very large skillet, or use two skillets.
• Brown chicken in oil on both sides; add water to cover and simmer 30 minutes.
• While chicken is cooking, make the sauce by placing all remaining ingredients (except bay leaf) in a blender and processing until smooth.
• When chicken is done, drain broth and reserve.
• Add 1 to 1 1/2 cup of broth to sauce.
• Blend, pour over chicken in skillet, add bay leaf, and cook on low heat for 35 more minutes.

CREAMY POBLANO CHICKEN

Steps:

• Slice one poblano pepper into thin strips.
• Roast the other pepper: If you have a gas stove, turn the burner on and keep the pepper over the flame until it chars - you want it black on all sides. If you don't have a gas stove, turn your broiler on and roast the pepper on the top rack until it is blackened on all sides. Once the pepper is roasted, transfer to a large plastic baggie or a bowl covered with plastic wrap and let steam while you sear the chicken. Once they've sat for about 10 minutes, pull them out and peel the skin off. Take out the membranes and seeds as well.
• While the peppers steam: Heat a large skillet over a medium heat. Add two tablespoons butter or olive oil. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepepr. Once the skillet is hot, add the chicken. Sear until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Flip and do the same on the other side. Sear until cooked through, another 3-4 minutes. Take the chicken out and set aside. Don't worry if the chicken is not cooked through, it will simmer in the sauce later to finish cooking.
• Once the chicken is seared, remove from the pan, and add remaining tablespoon of olive oil or butter to the pan. Add the onions and sliced peppers (the sliced peppers you did not roast and steam). Saute for about 5 minutes until softened. Season with a little salt . Add the garlic and cook another minute.
• While the veggies cook, transfer the ROASTED poblano pepper to a blender along with cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 cup chicken stock. Blend until smooth. Pour the pureed pepper mixture back into the skillet with the sliced peppers, onions, and garlic. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup chicken stock, cream, lime juice, honey, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add the chcken breasts back to the skillet with the sauce, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. It should read 165 degrees on an instant read thermomter. If needed, add a little bit more chicken stock to loosen the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over rice pilaf, pasta, or mashed potatoes.

CHICKEN WITH CREAMY POBLANO SAUCE

Steps:

• Turn on your oven-broiler to the high setting in preparation to roast the peppers, onion, and garlic. As I mentioned in my notes, you do not need to use your oven to roast the peppers and the other ingredients if you have a gas stove, you can even roast them over a regular griddle. If you use this oven version, take advantage and also use the hot oven to warm other foods.
• Place the poblano peppers, onion slices, and garlic clove on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil, roast for about 2 minutes per side. Remove garlic promptly since it will be ready quickly.
• Remove from oven and lightly wrap with the aluminum foil for about 5 minutes.
• Season chicken breast with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large frying pan, once it is hot add the chicken breast to cook about 3-4 minutes per side. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of the chicken cutlets. Do not overcook, since they will keep cooking with the Poblano salsa. Remove from the frying pan, place on a plate and cover with aluminum foil.
• Clean peppers removing the charred skins, open the peppers by making a slit from top to bottom and remove the seeds and veins. Reserve one half of one pepper and cut into small strips.
• Place the rest of the peppers, white onion, garlic, heavy cream, milk, and chicken bouillon in your blender. Process until you have a beautiful creamy sauce.
• Melt butter in the same frying pan, and pour the sauce. Gently simmer on a medium heat, allow cooking for 5 minutes, adding the chicken, and keep cooking for another 5-6 minutes. Keep the heat low to avoid the creamy sauce from curdling.

MOLE POBLANO

Steps:

• For the Lomo Saltado:
• Melt a little lard in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the halved onions and the 8 garlic cloves and cook until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and discard the onion. Reserve the garlic. In the infused lard, fry the roasted onions, roasted garlic, roasted tomatoes and tomatillos. Reserve.
• In another large skillet, add the sesame seeds, almonds, peanuts, raisins, prunes, plantains, coriander seeds, star anise and cinnamon, and toast until aromatic. Set aside.
• In a blender add the reserved garlic, the onion mixture, the nut mixture, croissants, tortilla pieces and the 1 1/2 quarts of chicken stock. Puree until a smooth mole forms. Transfer mole mixture to a large stock pot.
• Seed and devein the mulattos, anchos, pasillas and chipotles. Coat a large fry pan with lard. Add the chiles and saute until soft. Add the chiles to a blender and puree, then strain into the pot with the mole. Put the pot over low heat and add the chocolate and the sugar, stirring constantly. Stir in the remaining chicken stock, a little at a time, until the desired thickness of the mole is reached.

CHICKEN WITH POBLANO PEPPERS AND CREAM

Steps:

• Peppers: Roast the poblano peppers until all sides are blackened. If you have a gas stove, place them right on the burner over medium-low heat, turning and re-positioning until the are blistered and black on all sides. If not, place directly under a broiler or on a grill. Put into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap so they can steam for 5-10 minutes before peeling. Cut and proceed with the recipe or refrigerate until needed.
• Chicken: Let the chicken come to temperature on the counter for about 20 minutes. Place a stainless steal or non-stick skillet and 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium high heat (NOT A CAST IRON SKILLET.) Blot the chicken dry, massage with the remaining teaspoon of oil and season with salt and pepper. When pan is hot, cook the chicken 4-6 minutes per side or until an instant read thermometer registers 160. Remove the chicken to a plate and tent with foil.
• Sauce: Turn the heat down to medium and saute the onions and garlic for about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and add the wine. Place the pan back over the heat and cook until most of the wine has evaporated, scraping up any browned bits left from the chicken. Add the cream, poblano peppers and cumin. Cook until the cream has thickened to your liking keeping in mind that it will become even thicker as it cools. Taste the sauce and adjust salt and pepper as necessary. Serve over the chicken.
• Variation: If you'd like, add the cooked onion and garlic, poblano peppers and cream to a blender and blend until smooth. Return to the pan, add the cumin and cook until thickened. If it becomes too thick, add a little chicken broth. Salt and pepper to taste.

POLLO MOLE POBLANO

Steps:

• In a medium bowl place the red chile powder, sesame seeds, almonds, crushed tortilla, raisins, garlic, anise seeds, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, tomatoes, salt, peppercorns, and 2 cups of the chicken stock. Mix the ingredients together and pour them into a blender. Puree the mixture until it is a thick paste.
• Place the other 3 cups of chicken stock in a medium large sauce pan and heat it. While stirring constantly, gradually add the blended paste. Bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat and add the chocolate. Simmer the sauce until the chocolate has melted and a thick gravy is formed.
• In a large saucepan, half filled with boiling water, place the chicken. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer the chicken for 15 minutes. Broil the chicken 5-10 minutes on each side or until it is nicely browned. Serve it with the sauce.

POLLO POBLANO

Steps:

• Lay chicken breasts on cutting board and slice them on an angle into 3 thinner pieces each. Heat oil in non-stick skillet. Sear poblano pepper on both sides until brown. Cool and peel off any of the cellophane-like tough skin you can remove (or you can oven roast on 400º if you prefer and only peel the scorched part of the skin off). Place pepper on cutting board and cut into thin slivers. Now, brown chicken pieces on both sides in same skillet over high heat. Preheat oven to 350º. Remove chicken from skillet and add onion. Saute until onion begins to brown. Add garlic, spices and slivered poblano pepper to pan. Remove from fire and add broth, cream and cheese. Stir in a tiny bit of your preferred thickener. Replace chicken into skillet and pop into 350º oven for about 30 minutes.