Hotel Jesus · Chilaca

For me, chilaca was a love at first bite story. It’s one of the first dishes I ate when I was studying Spanish and living with a Mexican family in the south of Oaxaca. It’s essentially a comfort food dish, but, for me, it was also one of those ‘wow’ moments when you realise that Mexican food is so much more than just tacos.

That first time, the chilaca was served on the table as a guisado (stew) with the intention of stuffing it into tortillas or simply as a side dish to the protein on the table. At Hotel Jesus we serve this slightly more refined version of chilaca, while maintaining the primary notes of sweet yet salty, and a comfort food factor of 10+!

Method

Lightly char the banana peppers, just to add colour and soften them. Set aside to cool.

For the stuffing – in a saucepan, add the vegetable oil and the diced onion, then the crushed garlic and diced dry chilli de arbol. Cook until the onion is translucent.

Cut corn kernels from the cobs and add, and sauté until cooked. Season with salt. Set aside to cool.

Once this mix is cold, combine with shredded tasty cheese in a bowl.

Cut the tops of the now cool banana chillis and keep to one side. Scoop out the seeds and membranes as gently as possible, trying not to damage the chilli (it is best to use a teaspoon to do this).

Now stuff the corn cheese mixture into the chillis, and lay them in a roasting tray lined with baking paper. Bake at 200 degrees for 10 minutes or until the cheese mix is melted.

For the salad – Finely shred the red cabbage and the spring onion. Mix them together in a bowl and dress with fresh squeezed lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Serve stuffed chillis on a serving plate, with salad on the side.

Note: You can make the salad prior to stuffing the chillis, but dress minutes before serving.