Chicken, Poblano & Mushroom Cups – Recipe!

In Mexican cooking, rajas is a combination of sauteed chilies, onions and cheese usually stuffed into a corn tortilla or large roasted pepper.  Rajas Tacos are hand held portable Mexican fare that you see in more authentic restaurants and taco trucks.  I enjoy rajas so much –  I thought I would try my best to duplicate these flavors, using similar ingredients, but with the addition of chicken and no tortilla, for a lighter touch.  

In this recipe, I use butter lettuce as a shell and amazingly, the corn tortilla is not missed.  The combination of poblano chilies with mushrooms and chicken has enough body, that you don’t need a hearty wrapper for the exterior – the lettuce surrounds the lightly spicy filling for an incredible crunch.  Also, to achieve toasty flavored peppers, roast them on the stove top, or in the oven under the broiler – it only takes a few minutes.

I recommend you purchase a rotisserie chicken to cut down on time, especially during the week when time is tight.  These Chicken, Poblano & Mushroom Cups go nicely with a side of beans or Mexican rice and possibly a skinny margarita.

Ingredients

2 fresh poblano chilies

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, diced

2 cups mushrooms, button or crimini – sliced

1 small onion, sliced

1/2 cup cilantro

2 limes

1 head butter lettuce – washed and dried

olive oil

salt

pepper

guacamole, optional

hot sauce, optional

(Serves 4)

To Prepare:

1.  On stove top over an open flame, or under the broiler – roast chilies on high heat until blistered.  Place chilies in a bag and seal, for 8 minutes.  To remove skin, gently scrape charred skin from chilies, using a knife. Chop chilies into a medium dice.

2.  In a saute pan, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and place over medium-high heat.  Add onions and mushrooms to pan and saute for 4 minutes. Add chicken and peppers to mushroom mixture, and continuing cooking for 3 minutes.

3.  Add juice of 1 lime, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper to filling, stir to combine. Separate butter lettuce leaves and dollop a large scoop of chicken rajas filling on top of each leaf.  If leaves are small, you can double-up to support weight of filling.  Add a spoonful of guacamole and a dash of hot sauce to each cup, if desired.  Quarter additional lime and serve along side each cup. Enjoy!