The first time I heard of Rajas con Crema was when I was hired as a prep cook at an upscale Mexican restaurant on the Eastside of Cleveland. That was about 35 years ago. I tied on my apron as Chef stacked 8 cases of poblanos next to me. I spent the next few hours peeling and seeding all 8 cases of peppers. Brutal.
Roughly 5 years later I was hired as a line cook in a new upscale Mexican restaurant in Columbus. By this time my skills had progressed enough that I didn't get stuck with pepper duty. But our Chef there had a funny way of saying "Rajas" that I still can't help but say to this day. A hard rolling of the R and said with an almost Pirate like emphasis. RAJAS!! That's about as good as I can describe it with just words.
Poblanos are Chile's with some heat. To me it's best described as a warm heat. Typically poblanos are not going to send you running for the milk to tame your burning mouth.
They have a waxy outer skin that needs peeled. You can char them on a burner, or in your oven, until the skins blister. Or, if you're in a commercial kitchen with 8 cases of them, you deep fry them until the skins are blistered.
After you blister the skins you need to "steam" them a little. You can put them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Or, drop them in a brown paper bag and close it. This makes the blistered skin slide right off.
Then you tear the peppers down one side, remove the seeds and seed spine. In the restaurant I always used a large mixing bowl of water and tossed the peppers in. Then basically seeded them in the water. It contained the mess in the water.
Rajas literally means strips in Spanish. Rajas Poblanas con Crema is strips of poblano peppers with cream. Add some corn (elote) and this becomes a soul warming accompaniment to your meal.
Ingredients
½ cup Mexican crema, crema fresca
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
5 poblano peppers
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onions, thickly sliced
1 cup drained canned corn kernels
Directions
Blend the crema, cream cheese, and chicken bouillon in a blender until smooth; set aside.
Place the peppers on a large griddle over medium-high heat.
Roast until the skin blisters and turns black.
Remove peppers from griddle and place in a plastic bag, allowing them to sweat for 5 minutes.
Transfer to a plate to cool.
Peel and discard the outer skin of the peppers; halve length-wise and remove the seeds and veins.
Slice into thick strips.
Set aside.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Cook the onion in the hot oil until tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir the corn into the onions, reduce the heat to medium, and cook another 5 minutes.
Add the poblano strips to the saucepan.
Pour the cream mixture over the vegetables and bring to a simmer.
Cook at a simmer until hot, about 5 minutes more.
Serve as a side or spoon over your tacos
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