CREAMED MEXICAN ROASTED POBLANO STRIPS/RAJAS POBLANAS EN CREMA

Creamed Mexican Roasted Poblano Strips/Rajas Poblanas en Crema image

Here is another very old and traditional recipe. Usually on a Sunday morning after church my grandmother would prepare this wonderful side dish. She would char the peppers peel and cut in strips and prepare with a wonderful cream sauce that included onions, fresh corn on the cob and garlic. We call this dish Rajas which means strips in Spanish. She would serve as a side dish or over little boiled new potatoes. Another wonderful memory of my grandmother's delicious Mexican homemade recipes.

Provided by Juliann Esquivel @Juliann

Number Of Ingredients 15

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Ingredients

10/12 large poblano peppers, charred or broiled, sweated, skin or peel removed, cored & seeded cut in strips
1 0r 2 large fresh weet vidalia onions or texas sweet onion cut in slices
6 clove(s) fresh garlic mashed or put through a garlic press
1/4 cup(s) olive oil
1/2 teaspoon(s) cumin powder
1 teaspoon(s) leval teaspoon of sea salt
1/4 teaspoon(s) frsh ground black pepper
1/2 cup(s) chicken broth
4 tablespoon(s) all purpose flour
2 tablespoon(s) smooth peanut butter (not crunchy)
1/2 teaspoon(s) mexican dried oregano or regular oregano
1/4 cup(s) olive oil or a little less, to make a roux
1 cup(s) mexican sweet table crema or 1 cup heavy cream
2 cup(s) fresh scraped corn off the cob or canned corn
10/12 small red new potatoes, boiled until fork tender, drained and sliced

Steps:

Poblanos can be put under the broiler to charr. Watch them closely so they don't over burn them. You just want to blister the skin or peel. You are looking for an even charr all over the poblanos. Then remove and put into a Plastic freezer bag and let them sweat for about 10/15 minutes. If you have a gas stove I just lay my poblanos over the fire until they begin to charr and then keep turning to get an even black blister all over the peppers. If you have a cast iron skillet you can charr in the skillet or a griddle. Do not grease the skillet or griddle. I find the fastest way is to put poblanos under the broiler to get an even charr all over. Once sweated remove one at a time rub off the skin seed and core. Do all of the peppers like this. When done seeding and coring cut into thin strips and set aside. When removing the seeds try using a paper towel once the pepper is open and scraping them away with the paper towel. Do not rinse them under water. You will wash away the wonderful smokey flavor.
Next heat your olive oil in a skillet until shimmering add the sliced onions and mashed garlic saute until the onions are limp. Next add the corn and continue to saute corn with onions five minutes then add the poblano strips and the spices ground cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir gently over medium heat for about 2 minutes, turn off heat and Set aside
In another skillet heat the other 1/4 cup of oil and add the flour. Begin to brown the flour until a light golden, Now add the chicken broth and with a wire wisk mix real well until you have a thick like gravy. Don't worry if it lumps up add a little more broth and continue to wisk until all is incorporated and you have a smooth like gravy. Next add the peanut butter and continue to mix real well. Now add the heavy cream about 1 cup and mix into the flour real well. You will end up with a nice thick cream sauce.
Now add the cream sauce over the onions and rajas or peppers, mix gently making sure all is mixed in real well. Taste to see if the seasonings are to your liking. You can add a little cayanne pepper if you like your rajas with a little more heat. Serve like this as a side dish or over meat or in a tortilla with meat.
Variation: To your boiled new potatoes that have been sliced add the rajas in cream sauce over the potates and mix well. Serve as a side dish with any meat. In Mexico rajas are served as a side dish alone or mixed in with potatoes. Either way they are delicious. Enjoy