Huevos Poblanos con Rajas y Elote

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 10-inch skillet or comal
• •Tongs for turning the chiles over flame
• •Sharp knife for cutting the corn off the cob
• •Wooden spoon or silicone spatula for the slow scramble

Instructions

1. 1

   Roast the poblanos

   Set the chile poblano directly over an open gas flame or under a hot broiler. Turn them with tongs as the skin blackens and blisters on every side. This takes about eight minutes over flame, a little longer under the broiler. You want the skin charred, not the flesh cooked to mush. The smell of roasting poblano is one of the great smells of the Puebla kitchen, smoky, green, faintly sweet.

   Do not skip the open flame. A poblano steamed in the oven without char tastes raw and grassy. The char is the recipe.
2. 2

   Sweat and peel

   Drop the blackened chiles into a plastic bag or a covered bowl. Let them sit for ten minutes. The trapped warmth loosens the skin from the flesh. Now peel each chile with your fingers, do not rinse them under the tap. Water washes away the smoky oils that are the whole point. A few clinging flecks of char are fine. Slit each chile open, remove the seeds and veins, and slice the flesh into thin strips. These are your rajas.

3. 3

   Cook the corn and onion

   Heat the manteca in a heavy skillet over medium. When it shimmers, add the diced onion and a pinch of salt. Cook for three to four minutes, until the onion turns translucent at the edges. Add the garlic and the fresh corn kernels. Cook another three minutes, stirring, until the corn loses its raw white color and starts to take on a little gold. La manteca es el sabor. Vegetable oil here will give you a flatter dish.

4. 4

   Add the rajas

   Stir the poblano strips into the skillet with the corn and onion. Add the epazote if you are using it. Cook for two minutes so the rajas warm through and absorb the lard. Season with half the salt. Taste a raja. It should be smoky, soft, and seasoned.

5. 5

   Beat the eggs with crema

   While the rajas warm, crack the eggs into a bowl. Add the crema and the remaining salt. Beat with a fork until the yolks and whites are fully combined and the mixture looks pale yellow with a faint streak of cream. The crema is what makes these huevos poblanos, not American scrambled eggs. It gives the eggs their soft, slow, almost custardy texture.

6. 6

   Scramble low and slow

   Lower the heat under the skillet to medium-low. Pour the egg and crema mixture over the rajas and corn. Wait ten seconds. Now drag a wooden spoon or silicone spatula across the bottom in slow, wide curves, folding the eggs over themselves as they set. Do not stir fast. Do not raise the heat. Slow folds on low heat give you large, soft curds that hold the crema. Pull the pan off the heat when the eggs are still glossy and a little wet. They will finish setting from their own warmth.

   Eggs cooked hot and fast turn rubbery and weep liquid onto the plate. Low heat and patience are the difference between huevos poblanos and a sad scramble.
7. 7

   Finish and serve

   Slide the eggs onto warm plates. Crumble the queso fresco generously across the top. The cheese should not melt. It should sit on the eggs in soft white crumbles, salty and fresh, the contrast to the creamy yellow and the dark green of the poblano. Serve immediately with warm hand-pressed corn tortillas and a spoonful of frijoles refritos on the side. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Use Mexican crema, not sour cream and not crème fraîche. Cacique and Tropical are reliable brands. If you cannot find it, mix one part heavy cream with one tablespoon of buttermilk and let it sit at room temperature for twelve hours. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Fresh elote, cut from the cob, is the only acceptable corn here. Frozen corn turns watery and the kernels stay too firm. If elote is not in season, make this dish another month. Mexican grandmothers cook with what the mercado is selling today.
• •Queso fresco is crumbly and salty and does not melt. Do not substitute with mozzarella, feta, or shredded jack. Cotija works if you cannot find queso fresco, but it is saltier so use less.

Advance Preparation

• •The poblanos can be roasted, peeled, and sliced into rajas one day ahead. Store in the refrigerator covered tightly. The smoky flavor actually deepens overnight.
• •The corn can be cut from the cob the night before and stored in the refrigerator. Do not cook the eggs ahead. Scrambled eggs do not reheat, they just turn into something else.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 370g)