Potato Stuffed Ancho Chiles Recipes

STUFFED ANCHO CHILES

Steps:

• Wipe the dried chiles clean and carefully cut a slit lengthwise. Shake out the seeds and carefully tear out any of the obvious interior ribs. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet and fry the chilies briefly until they begin to puff and color slightly. Remove and drain on paper towels.
• In the same skillet, fry the sliced onion until it has colored. In another pot, bring to a boil the orange juice, vinegar, sugar (piloncillo is the coarse brown Mexican sugar that can often be found in truncated cone form), salt and pepper; cook briefly at a lower temperature then remove from the burner.
• Add the chiles and drained onions to this sweet-sour marinade, making sure they are all submerged, and let macerate, preferably overnight. Remove and drain the chiles, reserving the marinade.
• The drained chiles may then be filled with a variety of ingredients: freshly made guacamole; potato salad; tuna salad; etc. They may be presented atop a bed of lettuce, topped with crumbled farmer's cheese and drizzled with a little of the reserved marinade, if desired.

TUNA- AND POTATO-STUFFED ANCHO CHILES

Steps:

• Bring 3 cups water and piloncillo to boil in medium saucepan. Add white vinegar, canela, and salt; simmer until piloncillo has dissolved, stirring often, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add chiles and soak until softened, occasionally pressing to submerge, about 1 hour; drain. Pat chiles dry; slit lengthwise and remove seeds.
• Cook red-skinned potatoes in pot of boiling salted water until skewer easily pierces centers, about 35 minutes. Drain. Cool, peel, and cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes.
• Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Season tuna with salt. Grill until light brown at edges but pink in center, about 3 minutes per side. Cut tuna into 1-inch cubes. Whisk together 1/4 cup oil and next 5 ingredients in large bowl. Fold in potatoes and tuna. Season with salt. Fill chiles with tuna-potato mixture.
• Whisk remaining 1/4 cup oil, apple cider vinegar, and cilantro in medium bowl. Season with salt. In large bowl, toss greens with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette to coat. Divide salad among plates. Top with chiles and avocado slices; drizzle with some of remaining vinaigrette.
• *Mexican raw sugar shaped into hard cones. Smaller chunks are sometimes labeled panocha. If neither is available, substitute and equal weight of packed dark brown sugar.
• **Mexican cinnamon sticks with a delicate, floral flavor.