The striking green chile dish that acclaimed Chef John Sedlar made TABLE comes from his 1980s restaurant Saint Estephe. John fills New Mexican pods with a French-style reduction of mushrooms, then blankets them with a velvety goat cheese sauce. Sweet peas were in season when the meal was served, so John scattered some over the plates. Feel free to add a handful of lightly cooked peas, if you wish. The original recipe appeared in John Sedlar’s Modern Southwest Cuisine (Simon & Schuster, 1986).

For the Mushroom Duxelles:

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter

• 2 lb button mushrooms, rinsed, patted dry, and finely chopped

• ½ cup whipping cream

• ½ tsp table salt

• ½ tsp white pepper

 Instructions

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over moderate heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté them until all of their liquid evaporates, about 20 minutes. Stir in the cream, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until they have absorbed all of the cream and the mixture is thick, about 20 minutes more.

For the Garlic Chèvre Sauce:

• ½ cup dry white wine

• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• ½ tsp table salt

• 2 cups whipping cream

• 5 oz creamy goat cheese, such as Montrachet, crumbled

• 6 plump, fresh New Mexican green chiles, roasted, peeled, and seeded (see note below)

• ½ tsp table salt

 Instructions

• Put the wine, garlic, and salt in a medium saucepan over moderate-to-high heat. Bring to a boil, and reduce by about one-half, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cream and goat cheese with a wire whisk, then pass the sauce through a sieve. Set it aside and keep warm. 

• While the sauce is cooking, spread the chiles open on a work surface. Lightly salt their insides and spoon 3 tablespoons of the duxelles along the length of each. Fold the chiles closed and place them, seam-side down, on a greased baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

• When the sauce is ready, cover the rellenos with a damp kitchen towel and bake them until heated through, about 10 minutes. 

• Spoon equal portions of sauce on the middle of warmed plates. Place a chile on each plate and serve.

Note: Chiles can be roasted in several ways, or purchased already roasted, from a New Mexico farmers’ market or supermarket, in season. The easiest way to roast just a handful of pods, as needed here, is to hold each chile over a gas burner with a high flame. (Alternately, use a gas or charcoal grill to blister the pods.) Use tongs or a large fork to turn. Sear and blacken the chile’s skin on all sides. Transfer the pod to a covered dish or plastic bag, to steam briefly. Repeat with the remaining pods. When cool, strip off the peel, using a paper towel to help remove any stubborn bits of skin. Slice down one side of the chile lengthwise, and gently cut out the seed pod at the chile’s stem end.

Styling by Keith Recker / Photography by Gabriella Marks

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