Pickled Ancho Chiles Stuffed With Tuna Food

CHILLED TUNA-STUFFED CHILES

Steps:

• Put the chiles in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish and set aside for stuffing.
• Combine the tuna, peas, corn and mayonnaise in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
• Stuff the peppers with the tuna mixture. Place back in the baking dish; they should fit snugly. Pour the pickled carrots and jalapeno juice over the stuffed chiles. Let come to room temperature, then cover and chill for 2 hours or overnight. Serve cold.

STUFFED ANCHO CHILES

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients except ancho peppers.
• Make small lengthwise cut in side of each ancho pepper; remove and discard seeds.
• Fill peppers with egg mixture, adding about 1/2 cup to each.

TUNA STUFFED CHILES

Steps:

• To char the chiles: Over a gas flame, char the chiles on all sides until blackened, placing them into a sealable plastic bag to sweat for about 10 minutes. Remove the chiles from the bag and, using paper towels, wipe off the charred skin from the chiles. With a paring knife, slice the chiles down the center just to reveal the inside, being careful not to fully cut them in half. With a spoon, scoop out the seeds and the vein, keeping the stem and the rest of the chile intact. Place the chiles in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish and set aside for stuffing.
• To make the tuna filling: Combine the tuna, peas, corn and mayonnaise in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• To make the pickling liquid: Cook the carrots in boiling salted water until just crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and onions and cook until the onions are slightly cooked, but still crispy, 5 minutes. Add 2/3 cup water and the vinegar and bring to a simmer (see Cook's Note, below). Add the carrots, oregano and bay leaves. Simmer until the vegetables are crisp- tender and almost all of the vinegar has evaporated, 8 minutes. Let cool slightly.
• To stuff the peppers: Stuff the peppers with the tuna mixture. Place back in the baking dish; they should fit snuggly. Pour the warm pickled mixture over the stuffed chiles and allow to cool to room temperature. Cover and chill for 2 hours or overnight. Serve cold.

STUFFED ANCHO CHILES

Steps:

• Wipe the dried chiles clean and carefully cut a slit lengthwise. Shake out the seeds and carefully tear out any of the obvious interior ribs. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet and fry the chilies briefly until they begin to puff and color slightly. Remove and drain on paper towels.
• In the same skillet, fry the sliced onion until it has colored. In another pot, bring to a boil the orange juice, vinegar, sugar (piloncillo is the coarse brown Mexican sugar that can often be found in truncated cone form), salt and pepper; cook briefly at a lower temperature then remove from the burner.
• Add the chiles and drained onions to this sweet-sour marinade, making sure they are all submerged, and let macerate, preferably overnight. Remove and drain the chiles, reserving the marinade.
• The drained chiles may then be filled with a variety of ingredients: freshly made guacamole; potato salad; tuna salad; etc. They may be presented atop a bed of lettuce, topped with crumbled farmer's cheese and drizzled with a little of the reserved marinade, if desired.

POTATO- AND CHORIZO-STUFFED ANCHO CHILES

Steps:

• Rinse chiles, then cover with cold water in a bowl and soak, weighted with a sieve (to keep submerged), until completely rehydrated (most will turn a brighter red), about 8 hours. Do not drain chiles.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Remove 1 chile from soaking liquid and, working over chile bowl and sieve, cut a slit down one side with scissors and let interior liquid and loose seeds drain into sieve. Carefully cut out seedpod, leaving stem intact and letting any easily loosened seeds fall into sieve, then discard seedpod. Repeat with remaining chiles, arranging seeded chiles, cut sides up, in 1 layer in a 13- by 9- by 2-inch (3-quart) baking dish.
• Reserve 1 cup chile-soaking liquid for sauce. Turn chile seeds out of sieve into a shallow baking pan and spread evenly, then toast in oven, stirring occasionally, until dry, fragrant, and a few shades darker, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool seeds in pan on a rack, then finely grind in grinder (you will have about 1 tablespoon).
• Purée tomatoes, including juice from can, in a blender with reserved soaking water, ground chile seeds, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until smooth, then transfer to a 3-quart heavy saucepan and boil, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened slightly and reduced to about 2 cups, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Peel potatoes and cut into 1/3-inch cubes (about 2 1/2 cups). Cook in a 3-quart pot of boiling salted water until tender but not falling apart, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water to stop cooking.
• Stir together potatoes, chorizo, cheese, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl, then fill chiles generously with stuffing (about 1/2 cup each; slit will not close over it). Pour sauce around (not over) chiles, then cover dish with foil and bake until sauce is bubbling all over, 35 to 45 minutes.

PICKLED ANCHO CHILES STUFFED WITH TUNA

Steps:

• 1. Wipe the chiles with a damp paper towel to remove dust. In a hot dry skillet warm the chiles briefly until they soften and are pliable. Slit the chiles down 1 side, seed, and devein, leaving the stems intact. Reserve. In a medium saucepan, bring to a boil the vinegar, water, brown sugar, bay leaf, allspice berries, and oregano. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the reserved chiles, fresh mint, and olive oil. Cover and marinate at room temperature, turning gently once or twice, 6 to 8 hours. 2. About 1 hour before serving, mix the tuna, mayonnaise, and lime juice in a medium bowl. Drain the chiles and discard the marinade. Stuff the chiles equally with the tuna. The marinated chiles are fragile, so handle very gently to prevent tearing them. Place 1 stuffed chile on each of 4 serving plates. Garnish with lettuce leaves. Sprinkle with crumbled cheese and chopped cilantro. Serve at once.From "1,000 Mexican Recipes." Copyright 2001 by Marge Poore. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.