Chicken and Corn Burritos with Poblano Peppers

I absolutely love peppers. They are one of my favorite ingredients and I especially like poblanos. The poblano is a dark green pepper from Mexico which has a waxy skin and a mild heat. You may know them from Mexican Moles or Chili Rellenos. The flavor of a poblano is deep and earthy/fruity. I know that doesn't really make sense but the flavor is hard to explain, I'll just say they are really good. This is a very quick and easy texmex dish which features the poblano.

Also, please forgive my pictures. I am amazed at how awesome the pictures are on some blogs. I'm not much of a photographer, but I promise I'm working on it.

Chicken and Corn Burritos with Poblano Peppers

adapted from bon appetit magazine
takes about 30 minutes

3 tablespoons safflower oil

3 poblanos, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 medium onion, diced

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

1 3/4 teaspoons ground cumin

1 3/4 teaspoons chili powder

3/4 cup homemade or store-bought red taco sauce

2 cups cooked corn kernels

6 burrito-size flour tortillas

Grated Mexican cheese blend or queso fresco

Chopped fresh cilantro

The original recipe called for the poblanos to be added without being roasted. I think this would have been a mistake because of the waxy, tough skin on the pepper. Whenever I use poblanos I always roast and peel them. Not only does this remove the waxy skin, but it intensifies the flavor of the pepper. If you have never roasted a pepper before, it is simple. Rub the peppers with some oil and place on a hot grill or underneath the broiler. Rotate the peppers until all the skin is black and blistered.

After the peppers have been blackened, remove from grill, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. This will steam the pepper, allowing it to finish cooking and loosen the skin. After the peppers have sat for 10-15 minutes, remove them and pull the skin off. Finally, remove the stem and seeds and chop the meat of the pepper.

Place the oil in a large pan and add onion, cook until softened. Add the chopped poblanos, chicken, cumin, chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook the chicken until almost cooked through, about 2-3 minutes. Add the taco sauce and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the corn and heat through. Adjust your seasonings and remove from the heat.

Heat your tortilla on the burner or in the microwave to make it nice and pliable. Add the chicken mixture, cheese and chopped cilantro. Enjoy!

A couple things:

1. When I made this I scaled down the recipe a little and only used two poblanos. Their flavor was slightly lost in the dish and I think it would have been much better if I had used another pepper. For the full recipe I think four poblanos would be fine to use.

2. I used my favorite jarred taco sauce for this but I think it would be better with a homemade one. Unfortunately I have not been able to find a recipe for a taco sauce I like better than the store bought one.

3. If you have never had cilantro, I wouldn't add a lot. Cilantro is a very pungent flavor which can easily overpower everything.

4. I use safflower oil when I cook Mexican food because it has no flavor or odor. I think Mexican food is all about the ingredients and spices so I try not to mess with them to much. I do the same with Asian foods. They have safflower oil at my local supermarket in the specialty foods section. However, if you don't feel like owning another oil, you can just use olive oil.