Chorizo and Rice Stuffed Chillies

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Today's recipe was actually made yesterday, but it was such a great success with the family that I'm making it again today and blogging it. This one of my more cheat heavy dishes since it's really easy to make, the only time consuming part is preparing the chillies (and those you can get ready to cook at Costcos in Mexico if you want. I don't know about Costcos in other countries but you can call them and check). My son only ate the stuffing as the chili is a bit too spicy for him, so there are options if you don't like spicy food.

Ingredients

Stuffed Chillies
-2 Sabori Soy Chorizo 400 gr packs
-1/2 finely chopped onion
-4 cloves of chopped garlic
-3 cups of cooked rice
-1 cup chopped cilantro
-4 large poblano chillies
-450 gr. of tomato sauce
-1 avocado (garnish)

Red Sauce
-200 gr. of tomato sauce
-200 gr of any red chili sauce
-1 teaspoon of olive oil
-1/2 finely chopped onion
-2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
-1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
-3 finely chopped ripe tomatoes

The first thing you need to do is prep your chilies. Remove the core, any seeds, and the skin. Traditionally you remove the plastic like layer of skin by passing them slowly one by one through the fire on your stove, but this honestly takes a while. A much faster approach is wrapping the chillies in plastic, a plastic bag will do, and putting them in the microwave for rounds of two minutes until you can see the skin lifting. It still takes some time but not nearly as much as the traditional method. However, if you want a nice presentation the traditional method is better. By using the microwave you are basically cooking the chillies, so they wont keep their form. If you really don't want to use the traditional method but would like a nice presentation then I suggest using more chillies, cutting them into strips and mixing them into the chorizo. And like I said, you can get them pre-peeled at Costco (although they are considerably more expensive). Do not, under any circumstance, skip peeling them. Tip: if you have time and are using the microwave, heat the chillies for at least 4 rounds of a two minutes each the night before you make this dish. The chillies are easier to peel when they are cool.

Once your chillies are ready place both packs of chorizo in a large, hot frying pan. I've only found two easily available brands of vegan chorizo in Mexico, and of the two I prefer Sabori by far. You can get it at any supermarket store in Mexico City. If you're lucky to live somewhere with a wider rang of alternatives use whichever you prefer.

You don't need to add any oil to the frying pan, the chorizo is already quite oily. Give it 5 minutes to heat up before mixing in the finely chopped onion, garlic, cilantro, rice, and salt and pepper to taste. Don't forget to stir it every few minutes. Once the chorizo starts to get brown add the tomato sauce. I used La Costeña brand, but you can make your own. Leave on low heat for 5 minutes.

To make the red sauce that accompanies the chillies, heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a small pot. Add the onion garlic and cilantro and leave till lightly brown. Add the red chili and tomato sauces as well as the chopped tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Leave on a low fire for at least 15 minutes.

Stuff the chillies with the chorizo. If you skinned the using the microwave just add the red sauce and serve. If not cook the stuffed chillies in a frying pan with the red sauce.

Serve hot and garnish with avocado.

This recipe makes for four stuffed chillies and about two cups of leftover stuffing.

Enjoy!