Appetizer
Chilled avocado soup with charred scallions (cebollitos) and crispy tortillas
EntrÉe
Crawfish chile relleno with chipotle sour cream
Dessert
Warm passionfriut curd crepes with rum and cane syrup roasted pineapple
Bayona Crawfish Chile Relleno with Chipotle Sour Cream
4 poblaño peppers, roasted and peeled
2 tblsp. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 bunch scallion, chopped
1 tblsp. garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 lb. crawfish tails
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup sour cream (low fat is fine)
Juice of 1 small lime (about 2 tablespoons)
1/2 cup grated or diced Monterey Jack or white cheddar cheese
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Salt, hot sauce, to taste
Keeping the top (and the stem, if possible) on the peppers, make a slit lengthwise and carefully remove as many seeds as possible, without tearing the pepper. Try to notice how hot the peppers are by tasting the tip of one finger. Poblaños vary from quite mild to very spicy, so you may want to adjust the seasoning of the filling accordingly.
Heat the oil in a medium sauté pan and sauté onion for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add scallion, garlic and cumin and stir, cooking for about 2 more minutes. Add crawfish tails and stir to mix. Cook until warmed through, then scrape into a bowl and add the cooked rice. When cool, stir in the sour cream, lime juice, cheese, cilantro and season to taste with salt. If pepper is mild, you may want to add some hot sauce to the filling.
Stuff the filling into the slits of each pepper. Depending on the size of the peppers, you may have a little left over, but you can freeze it, or just make more peppers! Chill the stuffed peppers for about 10 to15 minutes.
To cook:
1 cup oil for frying
3 eggs, separated
Flour
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Heat the oil in a wide, shallow skillet or sauté pan. Beat egg whites until they are almost like soft whipped cream. Beat the egg yolks and fold them into the whites. Dust the peppers all over with the flour, shaking off excess, then place them in the bowl of whipped eggs. Turn gently to coat, and lift them out by the stem and the tip (touching them as little as possible) and place them in the pan over medium heat, being sure to leave space between them. Cook until golden brown on the bottom then turn and cook on another side (they will end up having three sides), then turn and finish browning the third side. Remove from pan onto paper towels, and if cooking immediately place on an oiled baking sheet and bake in oven for about 12 minutes, until filling is hot in the middle. If not, you can refrigerate the peppers until ready to cook. Remove from refrigerator at least 10 minutes before baking.
Serve with your favorite salsa and a wedge of lime. Serves 4.
Bayona, 430 Dauphine St., 525-4455