My friend Maciel is an amazing cook, and a fellow eating enthusiast. We were discussing a friend's potential love interest when Maciel told me that she "harbored an innate distrust of people who don't eat". The girl in question had drank water all night. I agreed whole heartedly. I have similar confusion towards people who claim they forget to eat. But that's probably because I keep my body in an almost-constant state of full, eating once every twenty minutes or so.
Carrying on, Maciel and I decided to create a mexican feast. She was going to make Tinga, a slow cooked pork shoulder with an array of delicious spices, for burritos and I was going to make some kind of vegetable dish, because I tend
to feel guilty if I don't have some veggies with dinner. I remembered that Bon Appetit had recently run a feature on Mexican food, but as I was mentally scrolling I decided that I was very boring and should really get a life and try to make something myself. So I picked up some yams, six poblanos and a can of chipotle peppers and scurried over to the kitchen to dump them all together.
This recipe ended up being deeply simple. Even my friend Grady, who boils pasta every night and eats it with hot sauce, thought he could make this! I don't know why I'm surprised. I should get a little confidence.
Chipotle Yam Stuffed Poblanos
6 poblano peppers, halved and seeded, piths cut out
2 yams, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces
2 canned chipotles, more if you like the heat, minced
About 2 tsp cinnamon (I just sort of tasted and added more as I went)
S&P, for seasoning
Butter and milk/cream (for creamy purposes)
Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Peppers
Place the halved peppers round side up on a baking sheet and oil lightly with canola. You don't have to wait for the oven to heat up entirely. Just pop them in an keep an eye on them while you toss together the yams. When their skin appears crepe-y and charred n spots, take them out to cool.
(My Mom always taught me that after you take roasted peppers out of the oven, put them in a paper bag and twist the top. The skins come off easier that way. I don't ever have paper bags on hand, but it's a fun matrilineal tip, don't you think?)
Yams
Drop all pieces of yams into a salted pot of boiling water. Boil until each piece can be easily pierced with a fork. Drain water, turn off heat. Add the cinnamon, minced chipotle, plenty of salt and pepper, and butter and cream/milk to fulfill your creamy liking. I am an occasional lactose-intolerant, so I used milk. Whip everything around till it's got a nice smooth texture.
Peel the skins from the poblanos and lay them open-side up. Drop spoonfuls of the yam mixture into the poblano. The slight bitterness of the roasted poblano compliments the sweet and spicy yams really well, especially with some cold beer, or tequila if you're fancy. Or looking to get drunk.
And don't worry about those chipotles–they're not scalding by any stretch. Grady was eating them straight out of the can while I made this, and he could still taste dinner.
*Note: When I make this again, I definetly think I'll crumble a little queso cheese on top and then broil the whole mixture all together. Even though I was happy with the flavors, I might have liked a little crusty on the top, and then the velvety yams.
My piture taking has been down lately. So above is my roommate Andrea picking apples in our neighbor's yard.
