Pechuga de Pollo con Rajas

I recently returned to North Carolina for a brief visit, and among other things that I brought back was our copy of Diana Kennedy's cookbook, The Cuisines of Mexico. Back in Guanajuato, we prepared a most delicious dish based on a recipe Diana Kennedy includes in that book. Pictured above it is Pechugas de Pollo con Rajas, breast of chicken with 'strips' - in this case strips of chiles poblanos. 

Alice and I made the dish together. She prepared the chiles poblanos according to directions given to her by her friend, Luz, in the following manner:

Select dark green fresh looking chiles poblanos

Wash the chiles carefully - we put all of our vegetables in a big pot of water with a small amount of Clorox to soak for 15-20 minutes stirring them around a couple of times. Then, we allow them to completely dry so that all of the Clorox volitalizes - this doesn't take long here as it is so arid.

Put the chiles over a gas burner and thoroughly blister until charred all sides of the outside skin of the chiles.

Remove them from the burners and put them in a bag to cool for 30 minutes or more.

Using no water clean the charred outside skin away, and cut a small hole in the side of the chiles and remove all of the seeds and membranes holding the seeds.

We prepared around a dozen chiles. I set 4 aside for the 'sauce' and cut the balance into strips.

I fileted out and skinned 4 chicken breasts cutting each breast side into 2 parts. We then salted and peppered the pieces and lightly browned them in olive oil, then set them aside.

Meanwhile, I 'sweated' and lightly browned a large white onion cut into thick pieces in a covered frying pan. Then I set them aside.

The 'sauce' was made in the blender with 4 chiles blended with a little milk. When the paste was smooth and light green 2 cups of thick sour cream were added and blended evenly.

In a large lightly oiled casserole dish the chicken was arranged around the bottom then covered with the strips of chiles. Then the onion rings were put on top and the 'sauce' was poured over the chicken, chiles and onions.

The casseroles was put into a 350 degree preheated oven and cooked for about 30 minutes. 

After 30 minutes the casserole was removed from the oven and around a quarter pound of grated Chihuahua cheese was spread over the top before returning the casserole to the oven until the cheese was melted.

I then turned off the oven and let the whole casserole cool somewhat for around 20 minutes before serving.

The chicken was very tender with the flavor of the poblanos  throughout. - Mild heat (chile heat) and creamy.

This recipe is easy to make for a big group of people, and VERY good.

***

Last week Alice was in a very nice shop in San Miguel de Allende called Silvistre which has lots of nature books, hummingbird feeders and other wonders. While in the shop she was invited to a book signing to be held at the shop celebrating Diana Kennedy's new cookbook of Oaxacan cooking. Diana Kennedy lives in nearby Michoacan.

The event was yesterday. We went and Diana Kennedy graciously signed our old beloved and food stained cookbook.

Thank you Diana!

Diana Kennedy and Alice

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Spinach and Sun Dried Tomatoes

This recipe is a variation of Gaida De Laurentis’ sun dried tomato stuffed pork chops. I make a bunch at a time then wrap them in stretchy plastic and freeze a bag full. We just pop a couple out and defrost for a quick meal.

Ingredients

• 6    boneless chicken breast halves
• 2    cloves garlic, chopped
• 1    package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• ¼ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
• ¼  cup crumbled feta cheese or crumbly goats cheese
• ¼ cup of cream cheese
• 1  lemon for juice and slices  for garnish
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon fresh rosemary
•     Salt and pepper as desired

Directions

Warm the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. Cook until combined, about 2 more minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Add the feta or goat cheese and the cream cheese. Stir to combine and put in fridge to chill.

Use a sharp knife to carefully cut a pocket into the thickest portion of the chicken breast halves. Stuff each pocket with 1/6th of the spinach, cheese and sun-dried tomato mixture. Close the chicken breast around the stuffing. Season the outside of the chicken breast with salt and pepper. Put the portions you want to freeze individually in plastic wrap – freeze.

Thaw out in fridge what you want to cook. When ready for cooking, put a couple of tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan. Bring to medium hot. When oil is hot place breasts flat in pan and cook for 5 minutes. Carefully turn away from the stuffed pocket to the other side and cook 5 more minutes. Cover, turn off burner and let sit for 5 more minutes while you get the salad ready. Squeeze a little lemon juice on each breast half, garnish with lemon slices and serve.