The poblano peppers and eggplants in this dish are roasted, peeled, and batter-dipped. Then they are lightly browned in a skillet and covered with Picante Tomato Sauce. This is a dish that is equally delicious at room temperature as it is hot.
Serves 4.
Ingredients:
Picante Tomato Sauce:
- 1 dry Guajillo chili pepper
- 1 c boiling water
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 c onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- pinch ginger
- pinch cloves
- pinch cinnamon
- 1 c tomato sauce
Poblano and Eggplant:
- 2 medium globe eggplants
- 6 poblano chili peppers (“pasilla chilies”)
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp milk or buttermilk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- dash pepper
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Directions:
- Remove the stem from the guajillo chili and crush the chili with your hands. Place in a blender with the boiling water and allow to stand at least 10 minutes to soften. Process until the chili is mostly dissolved. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place all the poblanos and eggplants on a large baking sheet. Roast them in the oven for about 35 minutes, or until the poblanos are somewhat charred and the eggplants are mostly soft. Allow to stand until cool enough to handle. Peel off the skins of the whole poblanos and eggplants, leaving the stems and seeds intact.
- Make the sauce by heating the vegetable oil over medium low heat in a medium saucepan. Add the onions and peppers and saute 2-3 minutes. Stir in the flour, oregano, salt, pepper, ginger, clove, and cinnamon. When well combined, add the poblano chili liquid and the tomato sauce. Stir until thickened and bubbling at the edges. Remove from flame and set aside.
- To prepare the poblano and eggplant, slice each of the eggplants lengthwise into two long halves, each retaining half of the stem. In a shallow dish, beat together the eggs, flour, milk, salt, and pepper. Dip each whole poblano and each half eggplant in the batter.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a large skillet and add 3 of the poblanos and 2 halves of the eggplant to the pan. Brown on the bottoms of each, turn and brown on the other side. Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining oil and the remaining poblano and eggplant.
- Arrange the poblano and eggplant on a platter or on serving plates and serve with the Picante Tomato Sauce.