Chayote and corn stuffed Chilies with red sauce

Chayote and corn stuffed Chilies with red sauce

You gotta like to cook. It has a few steps and alot of ingredients, but ho man it is delicious!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Jesus for giving us a likin for food. God blessed us so abundantly with His bounty to create somtin like this! Enjoy my fellow chefs and eaters :)

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Chayote and Corn Stuffed Chilies with Red Sauce

10 large fresh long green chilies

Filling:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves; minced
1/2 onion; finely diced
1 large chayote; seeded, finely diced
1 cup corn kernels
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground red chili pepper
black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup coarse bread crumbs
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, optional

Batter:
1 cup corn meal
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups water
vegetable oil for frying

Red Sauce:
1 cup tomato sauce
2 garlic cloves
1/2 onion
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon ground red chili pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Roast chili peppers according to your favorite method. The roasted peppers are placed in a bowl, covered, then allowed to steam a few minutes to help facilitate removal of the peels. Carefully remove peels from roasted peppers, leaving stems attached. Remove seeds by cutting a slit along one side of each pepper and gently scraping and rinsing out seeds and attached membranes. Pat dry and set aside.

Filling:
In a heavy skillet, heat oil on medium high. Add garlic, onion and chayote; cook until onion is translucent and mixture begins to brown, stirring frequently. Remove pan from heat and add corn, chili pepper, salt, black pepper and lemon juice, stirring to combine well. Gently mix in bread crumbs and nutritional yeast.

On a flat surface, open up one pepper at a time and spread about 3 tablespoons of the filling mixture down the center of each. Carefully roll sides of pepper around filling to enclose, pressing firmly to shape. Chilies may be prepared ahead of time to this point, covered and refrigerated up to 24 hours.

Batter:
In a pie plate or shallow dish, stir together cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually mix in water to form a batter of medium consistency.

Heat 1 1/2 inches of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Lightly roll each stuffed chili pepper in flour. Carefully coat each pepper with batter, as evenly as possible, using stem to help drag chili through mixture and a spoon to spread batter over top of chili if necessary. Fry chilies in hot oil, two at a time, until lightly browned, turning once. It should take about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove and drain on absorbent paper. If chilies must be prepared in advance, reheat just before serving by placing them on a baking sheet in a preheated 350F oven until hot and crisp.

Red Sauce:
In a food processor or blender, puree garlic and onion with tomato sauce. Transfer to a saucepan and add water, ground red chili pepper, salt, cinnamon and cumin. Cook sauce over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.

To serve:
Spoon a little sauce onto each plate, spreading it around in a spiral fashion with the back of the spoon to form a large circle. Place a chili onto circle of sauce, drizzling a bit of additional sauce over top if desired and garnish with a few slices of avocado and/or some finely minced cilantro leaves. A black bean salad and slices of cooling fresh melon and/or tropical fruits would be nice accompaniments.
 
Down south those are called mirlatons and we stuff them with shrimp and ham- mmmmmmm!
 
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