Limoncello and Poppy Seed Cookies

I am excited to once again be back in baking mode this holiday season and share all the cookies, biscuits, tarts, and other winter deliciousness from my kitchen. This has been the longest hiatus I have had from blogging – turns out planning a wedding, finishing a PhD, and trying to get a job takes a lot of time (or at least mental effort), which kept me away from blogging! But I’m hoping to remedy that this winter, and I would like to begin with some of the cookies I made this weekend for my friends and colleagues at work.

Limoncello is one of my favorite liqueurs, especially from the time when my partner made a bottle for me from scratch a few years ago. And with so many cookies being heavy on the chocolate or nuts this season, a cookie with lemon seemed like a great, light antidote. These cookies are also not too sweet, and are just sweet enough to curb cravings for a light post-meal snack. If you do not have limoncello on hand, you can probably add the zest from another half a lemon or so – you can always taste your dough to figure out if you want a stronger flavor. The dough for these cookies can also be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator or freezer. I love to freeze my cookie dough – it lasts fresher much longer, and it is so easy to slice off a few and get fresh baked cookies in 10 minutes!

Peanut butter and dark chocolate cookies (L) limoncello and poppy seeds cookies (R)

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 2 sticks (8 ounces; 230 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp poppy seeds
• Zest from 1 lemon
• 2 teaspoons limoncello

Directions

1. Put the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat at medium speed until it is smooth. Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and beat again until the mixture is smooth and silky. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla extract and limoncello, followed by the salt and poppy seeds. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, beating just until it disappears. It is better to underbeat than overbeat at this point; if the flour isn’t fully incorporated, that’s okay just blend in whatever remaining flour needs blending with a rubber spatula.
2. Turn the dough out onto a counter, gather it into a ball, and divide it in half. Wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
3. Working on a smooth surface, form each piece of dough into a log. Wrap the logs in plastic and freeze for half an hour. (The dough can be wrapped airtight and kept refrigerated for up to 3 days or stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.)
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Then, using a sharp slender knife, slice each log into cookies. (See photo below – you can make the cookies thicker if you’d like; just bake them longer.) Place the cookies on the lined baking sheets, leaving about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) space between them.
   

   Slicing the cookie dough log

6. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, or until they are set but not browned. These cookies will start browning from the bottom much sooner than the top, so you want to keep an eye. Transfer the cookies to cooling racks to cool to room temperature.

I cannot wait to share the recipes of the other cookies I have been baking. What are your favorite cookies?

Lemon Tart

Next to chocolate, lemons are my favorite dessert category. A very close second. I love their refreshing, tangy, citrusy, acidic flavor that completely transforms any dish that they are added to. So when I was going to bake something for a friend’s baby shower on a beautiful spring day, a lemon dessert seemed like a no-brainer.  This tart has a buttery, sweet, flaky crust – one of the best I’ve actually had – and it is definitely making its way into my go-to crust recipes. It also comes together really quickly in the food processor, making clean up real easy.

I used normal eureka lemons in this tart, but feel free to use Meyer lemons in case you prefer their sweeter taste, over the taste of the slightly bitter and acidic Eureka lemons. I also found that this tart tasted much better on the second day after being refrigerated. So this is a great dessert to make in advance because it just gets better after cooling.

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

Tart

• Smitten Kitchen’s great unshrinkable sweet tart shell!
• Pie crust shield

Filling

• 1 large lemon (about 4 1/2 ounces; 130 grams), rinsed and dried
• 1 cup sugar
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt

Directions

Tart

I followed Smitten Kitchen’s great unshrinkable tart shell directions to a tee and it turned out perfect! Some minor differences:

1.  I used pie weights so didn’t need to pierce the shell with a fork
2. The tops and sides of the pie crust start getting brown significantly sooner, so I use this pie crust shield

Filling

1. First, zest the entire lemon. Then slice the lemon, remove any seeds, and toss all the insides of the lemon flesh and juice along with the lemon zest, sugar, and chunks of butter into the container of a food processor.
2. Process, scraping down the sides of the container as needed, until the lemon is thoroughly pureed. Add the eggs, cornstarch and salt and pulse until the batter is smooth. My filling was initially mealy and I had to process the entire mixture for at least a good two minutes before it came out as having a smooth consistency. If your feeling is still looking mealy, I would suggested processing it for a little bit longer.

Assembling the tart

1. Pour the lemon filling into prepared tart shell. If you have too much, do not pour it past the top of of your crust or it will become difficult to unmold later (if the filling does not bubble over while baking!)
2. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the filling is set. You can test this by bumping the pan a little; it should only jiggle slightly. The point at which the filling is set is also when it starts to get very light brown on top.
3. Let cool on rack, unmold tart pan and serve. I actually prefer this tart completely chilled. Dust with some confectioner’s sugar before serving!

Boozy Baked French Toast

The only thing better than delicious brunch is brunch that you do not have to get up early in order to pull off well. This baked french toast is least stressful thing you could make while hosting brunch or lunch. I made this while preparing for a friend’s baby shower and this was definitely the easiest part – cut slices of old Challah, and let them soak in the custard overnight. In the morning, just bake it and serve! I went with a very citrusy flavor here with lemon zest and cointreau, but you can definitely go with a wide range of flavor combinations – Frangelico (hazelnut liquer) and nutella or cookie butter, Chambord (raspberry liquer) and fresh raspberries, bourbon and toasted pecans., Calvados and apples – just name a season, and there’s an apt combination to devour. This french toast also puffs up beautifully, so you should plan on baking it right before it’s supposed to be served, so you can get all the ohs and the ahs!

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 loaves supermarket Challah bread in 1-inch slices
• 4 cups whole milk
• 4 eggs
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tbsp Cointreau

Directions

1. Generously grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with salted (my choice) or unsalted butter.
2. Arrange bread in two tightly-packed layers in the pan. I cut one slice into smaller pieces to fill in gaps. If you are using any fillings of fruit or nuts, this is the time to get them between the layers or sprinkled atop.
3. Whisk milk, eggs, sugar, salt, lemon zest, and cointreau and pour over the bread. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
4. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The bread will absorb all of the milk custard while you sleep.
5. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes, or until puffed and golden. This will take longer if you have additional layers.
6. Cut into generous squares and serve with maple syrup, fresh fruit, powdered sugar or all of the above.

Slow Cooker Apple & Almond Oatmeal

While I am excited about this warmer weather, I am a little sad about saying goodbye to winter vegetables and fruits. This is the first year that I have really started enjoying brussels sprouts (particularly, roasted), but I have also enjoyed experimenting with apples and not just in baking. I first made this oatmeal the night before what was going to be a snowstorm. I threw all these ingredients in the slow cooker just before going to sleep, and when I woke up in the morning, the house smelled just like an apple pie! With the winter wonderland that was outside, and the great smell inside, this was the perfect start to a snowy, cozy weekend. But besides a lazy weekend, this is also a great everyday breakfast because it hardly takes any active preparation time, and is very high in protein and filling. If you want less sugar, you can do so by taking out the brown sugar, and adding a little bit of honey to your serving at the end. And if you want to make it more decadent, you can add some toasted pecans or glazed pecans to your bowl.

Since these oats cook for a long time, you should only use steel-cut oats, as old-fashioned or rolled oats will not hold up their texture when cooked for a long time. This recipe results in 4-6 servings, depending on your portion size.

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 cup steel cut oats
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups almond milk (you can substitute regular milk as well)
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large apple diced (preferably Granny Smith), and extra for topping (if desired)
• Glazed or toasted pecans, for topping (optional)

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker – oats, almond milk, water, apples, raisins, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir to combine well.
2. Cook on low for 5-7 hours depending on your cooker.
3. Serve and allow to cool. If desired, add toppings of your choice.

New Orleans Red Beans & Rice

There are few things better in life than food in New Orleans – which is the reason it’s one of my favorite cities ever. I’ve been there twice now, and I still do not feel like I have had enough of it, and I am eagerly awaiting my third trip there. After my first trip there, I wrote in one of my past blog posts about the unique mix of French and Southern food, and some of my favorite restaurants in the city. And I am thankful that during my second trip, I was eating way more fish, so besides gorging on red beans and rice, jambalaya, beignets, bananas foster, and po-boys, I got to eat a lot of oysters and shellfish as well.

New Orleans food has definitely left a mark on both me and my partner’s heart, because we’ve decided to have both beignets and bananas foster at the dessert station at our wedding – with the caterers cooking bananas with brown sugar, vanilla, butter, and cinnamon with dark rum right out in the vineyard in a cozy spot! But besides my obvious love for their desserts, the other dish that really speaks to me is their red beans and rice. I have a special weakness for red beans, because growing up, my favorite food was an Indian curry dish made with red beans, rajma. Even now, every time I go back home, that is the first meal that my mom cooks for me. And while this version of red bean might be very different, it still has some very hearty flavors that are absolutely evocative of some of the Indian comfort food that I am used to. With the holy trinity of onions, celery, and bell peppers, and the flavors and smells of parsley and thyme, this dish with red beans and smoked sausage is a hearty, filling, winter meal.

Using dried beans is key in this recipe. And as I have realized, in my beloved rajma too. While canned beans might be more convenient,  the possibility of a mushy texture by simmering them for too long really detracts from the experience of both dishes. And of course, it’s always good to be able to season your food yourself, instead of getting the seasoning that comes in a can.

Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried red beans, rinsed and picked through for stones
• 1/3 cup diced pancetta
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 green and 1 red bell pepper, deseeded and diced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, roughly chopped
• 1/2 pound cooked smoked sausage cut into 1-inch pieces
• about 10 cups chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• chopped green onions, garnish

Instructions

1. Place clean dried beans in a medium pot and cover with room temperature water. Allow to soak overnight before making the beans.
2. If you don’t have time to soak the beans overnight, don’t fret. Place the clean dried beans in a medium pot and cover with room temperature water. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. As soon as the beans boil, cover, remove from heat, and allow to soak for 1 hour. Carry on with the recipe.
3. In a large soup pot over medium heat, cook pancetta until very well crisp, about 6 minutes.
4. Add the onions, celery, and bell pepper and cook until vegetables are very well done, about 8 minutes.
5. Add salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne and stir to combine.
6. Stir in the garlic, parsley, thyme, and sliced sausage. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until the sausage is well browned, about 5 minutes. Stir frequently.
7. Add the softened beans to the pot, the stock, and bay leaves. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for about 2 hours, uncovered, until the beans are well softened.
8. Taste and season with more salt or pepper.
9. For a slightly smoother consistency, blend about 1/3 of bean and sausage mixture in a blender or food processor and return to the pot. This way, some of the beans will be ground smooth and some will be kept whole, creating a really lovely consistency. You can also smooth out some of the beans by mashing them against the side of the pan once they’re softened.
10. Serve beans with white rice and a hearty garish of green onions.

What to Bake during a Snowstorm

With winter storm Jonas being touted as another Snowmageddon, and winter storm watches being issued across 14 states, the most important question to answer is: what baking projects should we undertake this weekend? There are a few things more delightful than having your oven going during a winter storm. The cozy warmth, the delicious smell of baked goods, and in many cases, the long amount of time that you might have to spend in your house means that undertaking a baking project is totally worth it!

My current cooking projects for this snowstorm include making Kung Pao chicken, cajun-spiced sweet potato fries, and hot buttered soft pretzels sprinkled with some sea salt. Finally, I want to slow-cook some steel oats with apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, a little bit of brown sugar, vanilla, and topped off with some pecans and raw apples – not only does this mean a pretty  healthy breakfast, it will also make your house smell like apple pie! Here are some suggestions for some baking project you can undertake during a snowstorm:

1. Cranberry-Orange Bread with an Orange Glaze – Nothing like the smell of baked bread to make you feel warm and cozy, and this one uses fruits that are currently in season. The tartness of the cranberries is a nice complement to the sweetness of the orange.
   

   Orange-Cranberry Bread

2. Chocolate Souffle – Souffles actually do not take that long to bake. As long as you have a hand mixer or a stand mixer, these are quite straightforward. With a recipe by Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian, these incredibly rich and decadent chocolate souffles are sure to hit the spot during a snowstorm. And since you will not be rushed, you can take your time to make sure that it turns out well.   
3. Cheese Souffle – The idea of sweet souffles does not do it for you? Try this savory version that you can make with either Gouda, Gruyere or Fontina Cheese, flavored with fresh thyme and lemon juice.  
4. Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Nut Tart – Planning to have people over for a snowstorm party? Then this is the perfect candidate. This tart may take time, but the caramel, chocolate, and nuts means that you cannot go wrong with the end product.  
5. Lemon Blueberry Mini-Bundt Cake – Having some frozen fruits that you finally want to use? Try putting some of those summer berries in these mini cakes, and they will be acceptable both for breakfast and as a dessert!
   

   Lemon Blueberry Mini-Bundt Cakes

6. Apple Brandy Bread Pudding – Have a ton of leftover bread? Make this bread pudding, and if you do not have brandy or calvados on hand, you can substitute whiskey or bourbon or rum.
7. Beignets – This is probably the best candidate for an extended weekend project. The dough needs to be a left for a few hours so that it rises and the end product is nice and airy. The only main thing you need for this a thermometer to measure the temperature of the oil in which you will be frying your beignets.
8. Salted Caramel Popcorn – Planning a movie or TV marathon during the snowstorm, and are bored of regular old popcorn? Salted caramel popcorn is pretty straightforward to make, and unlike other kind of popcorn, you do not need to eat it all immediately!
9. Homemade Dulce De Leche – Don’t want to spend a lot of effort in making something delicious? This dulce de leche takes a few hours, but involves minimal steps and hardly any prep. At the end of a few hours, your home will smell delicious, and you can spread this on fruits, or whatever else catches your fancy.
10. Boozy Baked French Toast – Want to make a fancy breakfast? This french toast uses challah, and can be flavored with Frangelico (hazelnut), Chambord (raspberry), Creme de Cassis (black currant) or Grand Marnier (orange) depending on whatever you have lying around at home!

So what are some other things that you are thinking of cooking or baking during the snowstorm?

Apple Brandy Bread Pudding

One of my favorite desserts to make over the holidays is bread pudding. It is a great way to use up old bread because the drier that a bread is, the more it will soak up the custard. You also do not have to be extremely precise unlike other desserts – you can easily use more or less bread or custard depending on your preferences. You can also pretty much go any route with it – sweet or savory. And if it’s the holidays, I think having a brandy/whiskey/rum/bourbon sauce to go along with it is essential!

I have made a bananas foster bread pudding with a vanilla rum sauce in the past, so I decided to go with a different one this time. While looking for recipes over the holidays, I fell in love with Food and Wine’s Yearly Compilations that have the recipes from every month together in one place. Though I subscribe to Bon Appetit, I have to confess that the amount of advertising in that magazine really detracts from the recipes, and having a yearly compilation means that I get a giant cooking magazine, with just recipes and no ads. I finally ended up settling on this apple bread pudding from  Food & Wine’s website. You can alter the level of sweetness in this recipe depending on your taste – I personally like a little less sugar, letting the sweetness of the apples and raisins complement the warming flavors of cinnamon and brandy. My two main tips  for bread puddings are – 1) you should cut the crust off the bread, and then cut the bread into cubes and leave it out to dry overnight. Then it’ll be sure to absorb more of the custard, 2) if you are using raisins or fruit, you can infuse them with the brandy (or whatever else the recipe calls for), to ensure that the raisins soften a little bit, get more plump, and get more flavor.

Recipe adapted from Food & Wine Magazine

Ingredients

• 1 pound brioche, cut into 1-inch pieces without the crust
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 Granny Smith apples—peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup Calvados or other brandy (I used Calvados)
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 3 cups milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
• 1/2 cup raisins, soaked in brandy
• Whipped cream or crème fraîche, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. If you did not leave the bread to dry out overnight, spread the brioche on a large rimmed baking sheet and toast for about 15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until lightly golden and dry. If you did, you can skip this step.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt the butter; reserve 2 tablespoons of the melted butter in a small bowl. Add the apples and 1/4 cup of the sugar to the skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples are golden and softened, about 15 minutes. Stir in the cinnamon. Remove from the heat and add the Calvados. Return the skillet to the heat and cook until the sauce is syrupy, about 1 minute. 
4. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk and the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar. Scrape the vanilla seeds into the custard (save the vanilla bean for another use). Add the brioche, raisins, and apples and toss until evenly coated. Let stand for 5 minutes to allow the brioche to absorb the custard.
5. Brush an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the reserved melted butter. Add the bread pudding and drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of melted butter on top. Bake for about 50 minutes, until the custard is set and the top is golden. Let the bread pudding cool slightly, then serve with whipped cream or crème fraîche

 

Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Pecans, Cranberries, and Orange Zest

This holiday season has been one of the most productive I have had in a while in terms of my baking ambitions – I’ve been meaning to make lots of complicated desserts that I otherwise would never get enough time to bake, and I finally got around to making a lemon meringue pie, a lemon cheesecake on a graham cracker crust, drizzled with raspberry syrup, and finally, some chocolate, lemon, vanilla, anise, and lavender macarons! And while I am excited to blog about all these baking adventures, I have to admit I am getting a little tired reading about desserts. Since these were not the most straightforward desserts, I spent a fair bit of time reading on how to avoid common mistakes that can occur with each of them. So for now, I will be writing about something savory, and return to writing about baking once I am over my sugar hiatus.

I never really ate brussels sprouts in India, and I have to admit that I was not a huge fan of them when I first tasted them in the US. But they have grown on me over time, especially as I have realized that pancetta and bacon does really elevate their flavor once they’ve been roasted. These ones are slightly healthier than using pork products, as it mostly uses the nuttiness of pecans, the tartness of cranberries and oranges to complement the roasted brussels sprouts. Roasting them in maple syrup also evens out the extreme tartness from the cranberries. Depending on your taste, you can decrease the maple syrup or decrease the amount of cranberries you put in this dish, so that you do not feel like it either too sweet or too tart. Plus, this dish looks so festive!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds/1 kg brussel sprouts, washed
• 5.3 oz/150 g fresh cranberries
• 3.5 oz/ 100 g pecans
• Zest of an orange
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• A little freshly ground black pepper

Directions

• Pre heat the oven to 350 F.
• Place the sprouts on a large baking tray, add the orange zest, olive oil and maple syrup, stir it, and cook in the oven for 10 minutes. At that point, stir it to ensure even browning and bake for another 10. After these 20 minutes, stir again, and then bake for another 10 minutes. (30 minutes in total)
• Now toast the pecans in a small pan for about 5 minutes, stirring them frequently
• After cooking the sprouts for 30-35 minutes, add the cranberries and pecans and cook for another 10-15 minutes, until the brussels sprouts are crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.
• Serve hot with a little sea salt, black pepper and a squeeze of orange if you like.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

This year’s December issue of Bon Appetit got me really excited – while I am more a of pie or tart person, their ideas for 25 days of Christmas, each with a different cookie got me really excited about baking cookies. And even though I did not end up using any of their 2015 recipes (instead using one in their 2003 edition), I ended up settling on Mexican wedding cookies – butter-rich confections, that are often confused with Russian tea cakes. Unlike Russian tea cakes, which are made with walnuts or hazelnuts, Mexican wedding cookies use pecans. They are tender, buttery, crumbly, full of coarsely ground pecans, that are finally dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Too late to try them for you Christmas cookie exchange? Bake them anyway for the holidays – these are not sweet, which means that it’s easy to wipe them out post-dinner!

The main thing to watch out for in this recipe is the temperature of the butter. When beating the butter at the beginning, make sure it is at room temperature, otherwise it will not mix properly. On the other hand, if the butter is too warm, it may start separating and may not become fluffy. For mixing and creaming, butter should be about 65 degrees F. The best way to get frozen or refrigerated butter ready for creaming is to cut it into chunks. Avoid using the microwave. When the butter is still cold, but takes the imprint of a finger when gently pressed, it is ready to be creamed.

Further, once the dough is prepared, make sure to chill the dough. This will ensure that the cookie does not start separating and/or spreading once in the oven. If the butter is cold, the cookies will hold their fairly circular texture.

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit (May 2003 issue)

Makes around 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup pecans, toasted, coarsely ground
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Using a mixer, beat butter in large bowl until light and fluffy.
2. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and vanilla; beat until well blended. Beat in flour, then pecans.
3. Divide dough in half; form each half into ball. Wrap separately in plastic; chill until cold, about 30 minutes to an hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. Working with half of the chilled dough, roll dough by 2 teaspoonfuls between palms into balls (I used a melon baller). Arrange balls on heavy large baking sheet, spacing 1/2 inch apart.
6. Bake cookies until golden brown on bottom and just pale golden on top, about 14 minutes.
7. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let them cool 15-20 minutes. Repeat procedure with remaining half of dough.
8. Once cooled, gently toss  cookies in remaining powdered sugar to coat completely. You may need to dip the cookies in the powdered sugar again before serving!

What are your favorite cookies to bake for Christmas cookie exchanges?

Green Chile and Chicken Stew

One of my favorite part about going to farmer’s markets when I was living in Charlottesville was finding a large variety of vegetables that I don’t normally find in my sad New Haven grocery stores. Given my proclivity towards spicy foods and Mexican flavors, I had been looking for a recipe that would use a variety of peppers. I finally found this stew, which turned out to be a perfect dinner. And you can actually find these peppers throughout the year, so this should not be a dish that you can only make seasonally.

The only issue is that this recipe does take a fair bit of time (over an hour), so if you’re looking for a quick dinner on a weeknight, this is not the recipe for you. With the amount of time taken to roast, peel and seed some pretty spicy peppers, this is more of a weekend project. And remember to wear gloves when seeding some of these peppers, especially if you wear contact lenses! As someone who has made the mistake of taking off her lenses after chopping jalapenos earlier, I can say that sometimes even soap doesn’t take off that capsaicin

Recipe courtesy Bon Appetit

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs
• 1 small bunch cilantro, trimmed, stems and leaves separated
• 2 large onions, chopped, divided
• 1 head of garlic, halved crosswise
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 pound tomatillos, husked
• 4 Italian frying peppers
• 4 poblano or Hatch chiles
• 3 jalapeño peppers
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Steamed rice

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450°. Combine chicken, cilantro stems, 1 onion, and next 6 ingredients in a large pot. Add water to cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer very gently until chicken is just cooked through, about 25 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and let cool slightly; shred into bite-size pieces. Strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl; set aside.
• Meanwhile, arrange tomatillos, peppers, and chiles in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast, stirring occasionally, until charred, 15-20 minutes. 
• Transfer peppers and chiles to a a paper bag and let steam for 15 minutes, then peel and seed. Not sure how to peel roasted peppers? Click here
• Combine peppers, chiles, and tomatillos in a food processor and purée, adding reserved broth from the chicken as necessary, until a coarse purée forms.
• Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add remaining 1 onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and caramelized in spots, about 15 minutes. Stir in tomatillo purée and remaining reserved broth; bring to a simmer.
• Remove from heat and add chicken. Serve stew over rice and garnish with cilantro leaves