Grilled Chicken and Poblanos

not too far from my house, there is a little mexican restaurant called el gato negro. on the outside, it’s pretty dumpy, but the inside is nice and new and the food is fab! my favorite dish there (actually, my only dish there because I can never seem to try anything new) is an appetizer called chicken poblano. the appetizer portion is just the right amount for my entire meal. i decided to try to replicate it at home, making a few modifications. it did not have the same flavors as the dish at the restaurant, but my version is quite tasty. here’s the recipe. if you try it and make your own version, i’d love to hear what you did.

for two servings:

5 chicken tenders
2 poblanos
one 14oz can of diced tomatoes
one small can green chilies
3tbs goat cheese
1 tbs butter, olive oil, 2tbs chopped onion, 1tbs chopped habanero, 1 tbs chopped garlic, salt, pepper

i prepped the chicken tenders first by coating them with olive oil and salt and pepper. then, i cut the poblanos so that they would lay flat on the grill. this took a little tweaking, so you can play around with it see what works best for you. i started the sauce by sautéing onion, garlic, and habanero in butter and 1tbs olive oil over medium heat. once those were translucent, i added diced tomatoes and green chilies. i let this cook on low for about 30 minutes. it will form a little juice (which is what you want). meanwhile, i got the grill ready. i used indirect heat and cooked the poblanos (along with my side dish) for about 10-15 minutes until soft and lightly charred. i cooked my chicken tenders 2 minutes on each side. i finished making the sauce by adding 3 tbs of goat cheese. this is what makes this dish, in my opinion. the sauce will become very creamy and delicious. i placed my poblano flat on the plate, put my chicken on top of it, and then spooned sauce on top of everything. i served this with grilled yellow squash.

without sauce:

with sauce:

 

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