Green Chili, Bacon and Vodka Cream Sauce
The garden fairies have truly blessed us with an abundance of poblano peppers this year! So what do I do with all these tasty veggies? Well, fortunately, my mom taught me how to can vegetables when I was a kid. Canning any can be a little intimidating and also time consuming, but, it's really worth it.
Poblanos are like tomatoes—they can be used in a variety of recipes such as sauces, enchiladas, fried risotto balls and anything else I can imagine. Here is one of my favorite sauce recipes that can be used on anything like tacos, burgers and enchiladas. It really bumps any recipe up to another level. Hope you enjoy.
Level: Intermediate
Total: 1 hr 55 min (includes cooling times)
Active: 1 hr 35 min
Yield: 5 servings
Ingredients
3 poblano peppers or 1/4 cup canned poblano peppers
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup sliced bacon
1/2 cup large red onion, diced
5-6 garlic cloves, separated, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 Jalapeno, seeded and thinly sliced
Salt and black pepper to taste
3 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup vodka (optional)
1/3 bunch fresh cilantro
Directions
To roast the peppers: Toss the poblano peppers with some olive oil and then roast them on an open flame until the skin is burnt. Let cool. Peel the skin and remove the seeds. (Or use the already prepared canned poblano peppers.)
Combine the bacon and olive oil in a medium stockpot. Cook over low heat until the bacon fat has liquefied (rendered). Add the onion, garlic and jalapeno and cook until soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the vodka (optional) and cook until the liquid is reduced by 1/2. Add the cream and simmer until reduced by 1/4. Add the roasted poblano peppers and simmer with the cream for 5 minutes. Finally, add the cilantro and use a hand-held immersion blender to puree the mixture. Let cool before serving. Great with pasta, tacos and burgers.