Poached Eggs with Tomatillo Sauce, Poblano Chile Sauce, and Refried Beans

Do you like huevos?  That means eggs in Spanish.  Eggs are a big part of our diet here in this house.  Obed loves eggs, in fact I found a feather on him the other day…..turned out it was from the pillow, but sometimes I wonder.   When I found this recipe for a pouched egg on a bed of refried beans topped with tomatillo and creamy poblano sauce, I was sold!   The bonus is for such a beautiful plate of food it is surprisingly friendly on the pocketbook.

Quarter an onion, in a heavy dry skillet at medium-high heat, place tomatillos, serrano, garlic and 1 wedge of a white onion.  Cook the vegetables until they are charred in spots, turning often, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the the vegetables to a cutting board and coarsely chop.  Transfer to a blender add broth and blend until course puree forms.  Pour tomatillo blend into a skillet and add chopped cilantro, season with salt and pepper to taste.  Set sauce aside.

Be prepared for some heat.

Char the poblano chile over a gas flame or in a broiler until charred and blistered on all sides.  Place the pepper in a paper back or in plastic bag, until cooled.

Remove pepper from bag, peel charred skin, seed and chop coarsely.

Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until soft, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add chopped chile.

Add cream and milk; bring to boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce thickens slightly and is reduced to 1 cup, whisking occasionally, about 10 minutes.

Transfer to blender; puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

This sauce is creamy pepper awesomeness!  It could double as a dip.

Heat oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until translucent and beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and stir 1 minute.

Add beans and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Using potato masher, mash beans until about half of beans are mashed. Season with salt and pepper.

DO AHEAD: Sauces and beans can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately; chill. Rewarm before using.

Bring large skillet of salted water to simmer over medium heat. Add vinegar.  Working in 2 batches, crack eggs 1 at a time into small bowl; carefully transfer to water in skillet. Cook until whites are just set and yolks are still runny, adjusting heat as needed to maintain gentle simmer, about 3 minutes.

Using slotted spoon, transfer egg to a plate lined with paper towel.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. After cooking the eggs, using a slotted spoon, transfer poached eggs to bowl of ice water, cover bowl and chill.  Using slotted spoon, transfer eggs from ice water to skillet of barely simmering water. Cook until just heated through, about 2 minutes.

Divide beans among plates, using back of spoon to form a well in center. Top with 2 poached eggs and spoon poblano and tomatillos sauce over eggs.  Garnish with fresh cilantro and diced tomato, serve with warm tortillas.

Take your fork and cut into the sexy runny egg yolk.  Watch in awe as the yolk pours over the beans.  Aaaawwwww!

I was floored with how delicious this dish was, it was truly fabulous.  Every thing melds together perfectly, with just a touch of heat and I could go on for hours about the pouched egg.  This can be breakfast, lunch or dinner…..may be a midnight snack.  Well the midnight snack maybe too much, but it is awesomeness on a plate.

The great thing is that you can do everything a day ahead of time.   Also the you will have left over sauce, which you can freeze and use another time.

Poached Eggs with Tomatillo Sauce, Poblano Chile Sauce, and Refried Beans (Bon Appetit – May 2010)

POACHED EGGS

• 2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
• 4 large eggs

TOMATILLO SAUCE

• 1 medium white onion, peeled
• 8 ounces tomatillos (about 6 medium), husked, rinsed
• 1 serrano chile
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

POBLANO CHILE SAUCE

• 1 large fresh poblano chile
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons chopped white onion
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup whole milk

REFRIED BEANS

• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped white onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1 15-ounce cans black beans, drained

PREPARATION

POACHED EGGS

Bring large skillet of salted water to simmer over medium heat. Add vinegar. Fill large bowl halfway with ice water. Working in 2 batches, crack eggs 1 at a time into small bowl; carefully transfer to water in skillet. Cook until whites are just set and yolks are still runny, adjusting heat as needed to maintain gentle simmer, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer poached eggs to bowl of ice water. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover bowl and chill.

TOMATILLO SAUCE

Heat heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Quarter onion (reserve 3 onion wedges for another use). Place 1 onion wedge, cut side down, tomatillos, chile, and garlic in heated dry skillet; cook until vegetables are charred in spots, turning often, about 5 minutes. Transfer vegetables to work surface; chop coarsely. Transfer chopped vegetables to blender. Add broth; blend until coarse puree forms. Transfer puree to small saucepan. Stir in cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.

POBLANO CHILE SAUCE

Char chile over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Wrap in plastic bag and seal tightly; cool. Peel, seed, and chop coarsely.

Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until soft, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add chopped chile. Add cream and milk; bring to boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce thickens slightly and is reduced to 1 cup, whisking occasionally, about 10 minutes. Transfer to blender; puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

REFRIED BEANS

Heat oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until translucent and beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and stir 1 minute. Add beans and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Using potato masher, mash beans until about half of beans are mashed. Season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD Sauces and beans can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately; chill. Rewarm before using.

Using slotted spoon, transfer eggs from ice water to skillet of barely simmering water. Cook until just heated through, about 2 minutes. Divide beans among plates, using back of spoon to form shallow well in center. Top each with 2 poached eggs, arranging in well. Spoon some tomatillo sauce and some poblano sauce over and serve.

Sweet Potato and Poblano Salad with Honey and Rosemary Dressing

Sweet Potato & Poblano Salad w/ Honey & Rosemary Dressing

Last week I got my first issue from my new subscription of Bon Appetit.  I’ve been reading this magazine for sometime now but never subscribed to it.  Instead I opted to pay $4 to $5 a pop for each issue.  Finally I got wise and got a subscription, which is much more economically friendly.

This month’s issue has a lot of grilling recipes, which of course makes sense because it is grilling season after all.  However I am not much of a griller.  I am a true and proud pansy when it comes to the heat.  The idea of standing outside in the heat in front of a equally hot grill is just not my choice of fun.  I leave hot sweaty grilling up to the Hubby.  Meanwhile I hang out inside in air conditioning, sipping on a nice cool Arnold Palmer. 

Season sweet potatos with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

Arnold Palmer is not some fella I have stashed away in my house while Hubby is outside grilling.  No worries.  An Arnold Palmer is what I believe to be one of the most refreshing beverages for a hot summer day.  It is equal parts sweet tea and lemonade.  Takes putting lemon into you tea to another level.  It gets its name from the golfer Arnold Palmer whose favorite drink  is a combination of half iced tea and half lemonade.

Oooops, got a little side tracked.  Back to the food.

Hubby was in the mood to grill.  Which I am always cool with as long as I don’t have to stand outside in the heat.  We agreed that some sweet potatoes would be nice but I didn’t want your hum-drum, butter + brown sugar + cinnamon sweet potato.  There just had to be another way to prepare sweet potatoes. 

Then I remembered seeing this recipe in my new magazine and I was all over it.  I will admit I was skeptical.  I had never had a sweet potato “salad”.  When I though of sweet potato, I always thought of them as sweet.  I always thought of pie or  you know the casserole with the toasted marshmallows on top.  Needless to say the concept of putting scallions, poblano pepper and dressing over my sweet potato was very new to me.  I guess when it comes to sweet potato you can say I am simple.

In a large bowl combine potatoes with dressing, scallions and poblano

Well let me assure you their is no reason to fear the savory sweet potato.  The potatoes were nice and tender with just a little bit of a crisp from the edges.  The salad has sweetness to it because of the potatoes and the honey in the dressing.  It also has a little bit of a bite…actually a nip, from the white wine vinegar and just the smallest amount of heat from the poblano pepper.  When you think poblano pepper you think “hot”, or at least I did, but it is a surprisingly very mild heat.  It may have been down played by the sweet potato but the combination of all the flavors melded very well together.

Toss and serve.

The entire salad was devoured and will be one of my new go to BBQ recipes. 

Print Recipe

 Sweet Potato and Poblano Salad with Honey and Rosemary Dressing  (adapted from Bon Appetit)

• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot (about 1 small)
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• Dash of Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 1/2 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled, quartered lengthwise
• Canola oil or vegetable oil (for brushing)
• 2 fresh poblano chiles (about 8 ounces total),* seeded, diced
• 1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced diagonally (about 2)

Preheat barbecue (medium heat). Brush potato wedges with canola oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Grill potatoes 20 to 30 minutes, turning frequently. Transfer potatoes to work surface, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces, set aside to cool.

Whisk first 6 ingredients in small bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place potatoes, poblanos and green onions in large bowl. Drizzle dressing over; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.