Pollo Relleno Food

CHICKEN MOFONGO RELLENO

Steps:

• For the sofrito: Put culantro, garlic, green onions, yellow onion, green pepper, cilantro and 1/4 cup water in a blender and blend.
• For the chicken: Put the chicken in a pressure cooker. Add tomato puree, chicken bouillon powder, salt, 4 tablespoons sofrito (save the remainder for another use) and 3/4 cup water. Pressure cook for 30 minutes.
• Carefully release pressure from the pressure cooker, then open it and shred the chicken with tongs. Add the green peppers and onions. Cover and pressure cook until the veggies are soft, another 2 to 3 minutes.
• For the mofongo: Heat several inches of canola oil to 350 degrees F in a large pan.
• Peel the plantains and cut into small pieces. Fry the plantains until they are cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer some fried plantain pieces to a mortar and pestle. Add olive oil, garlic puree and salt and mash until well combined and it has a pastelike consistency with some small chunks of plantains.
• Mold the mashed plantain inside the mortar into a cuplike form. Plate and fill it with the chicken. Repeat to make 3 to 5 more servings.

POLLO FRITO

Steps:

• In a large casserole dish, whisk the lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, and salt to blend. Add the chicken pieces and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 1 day, turning the chicken pieces occasionally.
• In a large cast iron frying pan or other heavy frying pan, add enough oil to come 1/3-inch up the sides of the pan. Heat the oil over medium heat. Meanwhile, drain the marinade from the chicken. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with pepper. Working in 2 batches, dredge the chicken in the flour to coat completely. Shake off the excess flour and then carefully add the chicken to the hot oil. Fry until the chicken is golden brown and just cooked through, turning occasionally, about 25 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate to drain the excess oil.
• Arrange the fried chicken on a warm platter and serve with the lemon wedges and parsley.

PANES RELLENOS (SALVADOREAN STYLE SMOTHERED TORTA)

Steps:

• Place the two chickens, garlic, cilantro, and bouillon cubes in a large stock pot. Cover the chickens with water and bring to a boil. Continue boiling the chicken on medium heat until the juices run clear when poked with a knife or fork, about 30 minutes.
• Pull the chickens out of the liquid. Cover and set aside to cool.
• Next, place the green beans in a large pot and cover them with water. Bring them to a boil and continue boiling for 10 minutes. Add the carrots in with the green beans and continue to boil for an additional 5 minutes. Then, place the cauliflower and onions in a large bowl, pour the green beans, carrots, and boiling water over the onions and cauliflower. Set the bowl of veggies and hot water aside to cool.
• While the veggies are cooling heat the oil in a deep saute pan. Cut the chicken in desired pieces and rub the mustard onto the skin and outside of the chicken pieces. Sprinkle all of the chicken pieces with seasoning salt.
• Once the oil has reached 325°F, carefully add the pieces of chicken and pan fry them on each side for 5 minutes. Once the chicken has browned pull it out of the oil and place the pieces in a paper towel lined bowl. Set the chicken aside.
• Now, discard the liquid that the chickens cooked in and heat the empty pot on medium heat. Place the margarine in the pot and melt it. Add the veggies into the melted margarine with the Worcestershire sauce and celery salt. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes and set aside.
• Now to assemble the sandwiches. Place a hoagie bun on each plate. Spread the bun with mayonaise, line each hoagie with 2 pieces of lettuce, a couple cucumber slices, and a couple radish slices. Next, pull the chicken in pieces off of the bone and put the meat into each bun using one peice of chicken for each sandwich. Add a half cup of veggies to each sandwich on top of the meat and then finally ladle a large spoonful of the Recipe #332519 onto each of the sandwiches.
• You can also add Recipe #271297 (Curtido) on top of the sandwich if you prefer. This is traditional in most households.
• Enjoy!

POLLO RELLENO (STUFFED CHICKEN)

Steps:

• 1. Rinse chicken; pat dry. (Today, they say not to rinse chicken because it sprays bacteria everywhere)
• 2. Place each breast half between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. (I use gal. size ziplock bags because they don't tear like plastic wrap) Pound chicken with a meat mallet to 1/8 inch thickness. Remove plastic.
• 3. In a bowl combine cornmeal and seasoning mix. Place egg in another bowl. For each roll, place 1 chili pepper on a chicken piece. Place cheese strip atop chili pepper near one edge. (I place the cheese inside the pepper)Sprinkle with some of the cilantro and crushed red peppers. Fold in sides of chicken. Roll up, starting from edge with cheese. Repeat to make 6 rolls.
• 4. Dip rolls into egg, then into cornmeal mixture. Place rolls, seam down, in a shallow baking pan. Bake uncovered in a 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Heat taco sauce. Sprinkle chicken with cheese, serve with sauce. Garnish with chopped tomato and cilantro, if desired.
• 5. Changes I made to how to serve. I top these rolls with shredded Mexican cheese blend, shredded lettuce, homemade salsa, sour cream, cilantro, and sliced black olives.
• 6. I serve this with Mexican/Spanish rice and Refritos on the side.