Chileajo de Vegetales Rápidos
La Comida (The Midday Guisado Pot)
If you ever walked past the university in downtown Oaxaca City mid-morning, you’d smell it before you saw it: the sharp, intoxicating scent of garlic, toasted chiles, and sweet vinegar wafting from the food stands. This hearty vegetable stew, typically eaten during Lent, is essentially a robust salad dressed in a deeply savory, bright red adobo. The grandmother’s secret here is twofold: you must boil the vegetables just until they have a firm snap, and you absolutely must fry the blended chile sauce in oil. This crucial step mellows out a mountain of raw garlic and blooms the spices into something that tastes exactly like home.
Before you start
Prepare an ice bath.
Fill a large bowl with cold water and a few handfuls of ice before you start boiling the vegetables so you can immediately shock them to stop the cooking process.
Wipe and deseed the chiles.
Take a damp paper towel and wipe any dust off the dried guajillo chiles, then pull off the stems and shake out the seeds before toasting.
Ingredients
- Yukon gold potatoes1 lb
- large carrots3 large
- fresh green beans1/2 lb
- frozen peas1 cup
- bay leaf1 small
- kosher salt1 tbsp
- dried guajillo chiles8 large
- garlic8 large
- apple cider vinegar1/3 cup
- dried Mexican oregano1 tsp
- ground cumin1/2 tsp
- whole allspice berries2 small
- whole clove1 small
- black peppercorns4 small
- kosher salt1 1/2 tsp
- neutral cooking oil2 tbsp
- crispy corn tostadas12 large
- refried black beans1 1/2 cup
- queso fresco1 cup
- white onion1/2 small
Method
- 01
Toast the guajillo chiles in a dry skillet, then soak them in boiling water.
Heat a dry skillet or comal over medium heat. Press the cleaned chiles flat against the hot pan just until fragrant and slightly blistered, about 10 seconds per side. Do not let them blacken. Transfer to a bowl, cover with boiling water, and soak for 20 to 30 minutes until pliable. Reserve 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid.
- 02
Boil the vegetables sequentially in a single pot of salted water so they remain al dente.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil with the bay leaf and 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Drop in the potatoes and carrots. After 5 minutes, add the green beans and cook for 3 to 4 more minutes. In the last minute, stir in the frozen peas. Drain immediately and plunge the vegetables into an ice bath to lock in their bright colors and stop the cooking. Drain well.
- 03
Blend the softened chiles, garlic, vinegar, and spices into a smooth purée.
In a blender, combine the soaked guajillo chiles, the reserved 1/2 cup of soaking water, all 8 garlic cloves, apple cider vinegar, oregano, cumin, allspice, clove, peppercorns, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Blend on high until exceptionally smooth. If your blender struggles, push the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer.
- 04
Fry the blended chile purée in hot oil to cook out the raw garlic and bloom the spices.
Heat the neutral oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Carefully pour in the chile purée—it will splatter. Fry the sauce, stirring constantly, for 5 to 8 minutes until it deepens to a dark brick red and the harsh smell of raw garlic mellows into a rich, sweet aroma.
- 05
Toss the drained vegetables in the hot adobo and let them marinate.
Pour the hot, fried adobo over the vegetables. Toss gently until every cube is lacquered in the bright red sauce. Taste for salt and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. For the absolute best results, refrigerate it overnight.
- 06
Serve the chileajo piled high on crispy tostadas.
Smear a layer of warm refried black beans over each tostada. Add a generous scoop of the marinated vegetables on top, then garnish with crumbled queso fresco and finely slivered white onion.
Notes
Easily incorporate protein for a heavier meal.
While this dish is traditionally vegetarian for Lent, you can fold two cups of shredded rotisserie chicken into the vegetables when tossing them with the adobo to create a protein-packed weeknight meal.
Ground spices can stand in for whole ones in a pinch.
If you don't have whole allspice, cloves, or peppercorns, substitute tiny pinches of the ground versions—though whole spices ground fresh in the blender will always yield a punchier, more authentic aroma.
From Cook Oaxacan in America.