Quinoa 109: Stuffed Ancho Chili Peppers with Black Quinoa and Purple Potatoes with Roasted Tomato Sauce

Dried Tan Chiles - Chiles Chipotles Mecos

Do you ever pass the section in the produce where a large selection of dried whatevers are displayed somewhat neglected by most of the buying public and wonder what cooks do with them? I mean, does anyone every buy them? Have they been there for years?

Well, honestly, I could not give a crap. It seems most of the things I cook require fresh ingredients, and all but one time, I have been required to seek a dried pepper that required me to use my googling skills to familiarize myself with its general appearance. That way, I can easily find it and avoid looking like a jejune cook.

I have many cookbooks that just seem to look good on my bookshelf but truly have not produced. I look at them every once in a while for a glimpse of inspiration, but frequently, they disappoint. But today was different.

Dried Ancho Chili Peppers

I do have a lot of omnivore cookbooks that are begging to be veganized. And today, I took on one recipe from Rick Bayless‘ “Mexican Kitchen: Capturing the Vibrant Flavors of a World-class Cuisine” and modified it slightly to qualify for vegan good eats, my quinoa raison d’être, and these gorgeous peruvian purple potatoes that I happen to find at Whole Foods earlier in the week.

So here it goes:

Quick Tomato Chipotle Sauce

• 1-3 dried tan chipotle chiles (chiles chipotle mecos) – 1 for mild, 2 for medium and 3 for hello, and if brave, 4 for you are loosing your mind insane
• 5 large garlic cloves
• 4 tomatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
  

  Precarious Peruvian Purple Potatoes

• 1 Tablespoon oil
• Salt

This simple and smoky sauce is very versatile can be used for a variety of dishes. It can also be made ahead of time and stored.

Start by heating a heavy skillet, preferably a cast iron skillet. Then toast the chiles by pressing them down with a spatula for about 10-20 seconds. You will know when they are ready as they will release an exotic and delicious aroma. Do not over toast as we do not want them to burn, but rather just release to the surface their flavor, oils and their natural fragrance

At the same time, toast the unpeeled garlic for about 15 minutes until they soften, allowing the skin to develop black spots but not burn.

Chiles and garlic beginning to impregnate my kitchen

Remove the chiles and place them in hot water for roughly 30 minutes until they rehydrate.

Roasted and plumped tanned chipotle chiles

The garlic will turn soft and very sweet.

Incredibly sweet, soft and fragrant garlic

Broil the tomatoes on the highest oven setting for about 8-10 minutes on each side until the skin blisters.

Roasted tomatoes begging to menage with the garlic and chiles

Remove the stems from the chiles. Pseudo puree in a food processor until all ingredients are incorporated, but still chunky. Then heat the oil in a heavy pan and cook the sauce down to heighten its flavor. Season with salt.

Rich and smokey tomato chipotle sauce

Now for the Stuffed Ancho Chili Peppers

• 10 large dried ancho chiles (because you will break some) pick the prettiest ones
• 1 sweet onion
  

  Taking a peak inside the purple potatoes

• 4 medium purple potatoes, chopped into small dice
• 1 cup cooked black quinoa, or any variety will do
• 1 tomato, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic
• salt to taste

The recipe is easy and simple. Start by caramelizing the onions for about 10 minutes until brown, sweet and aromatic. Then add the garlic and potatoes and cook roughly for 5 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Add the tomatoes, quinoa and season with salt. You can add any additional herbs and spices you may like (cumin, oregano, parsley) although I just want to highlight the sweet smokiness of the ancho chiles.

Ancho chiles are actually not spicy, but rather add a deep complex sweetness to any dish. They are also available ground if you want to be able to readily add the flavor to any other dish, but they will certainly loose their potency over time.

Toasting the ancho chiles

Toast the chiles for about 10 seconds on each side and place in hot water for about 10 minutes to rehydrate.

Rehydrated ancho chiles

After 10 minutes, remove them from the hot water and dry with a paper towel. Handle with care so they do not rip. Cut a slit on one side and remove the seed, as many as you can below the stem.

The filling

By this point, the filling should be nicely cooked. Fill each ancho generously and wrap close.

Filling the ancho chiles

Arrange neatly in a baking dish.

Beautifully filled ancho chiles

Cover with sauce, and bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Pour the sauce and cover all ancho chiles

Let rest for 20 minutes prior to serving. Careful when serving as the chiles are very fragile. As another possibility, you can bake them each in their own little baking dish for even a more personal presentation. Here is mine.

My dinner. By the time you see this, its gone. All gone.