Pierogies in a green chile moat

Name: Pierogies in a green chile moat
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Polish, Mexican
Ingredients: 14 oz potato and cheese pierogies, frozen (no need to thaw); 5 tbsp olive oil; 1 lb ground pork; 1 large yellow onion, diced; 4 cloves garlic, chopped; 2 × 4 oz can chopped green chiles, roasted, liquid and all (or 1½ cups fresh roasted poblano or anaheim, peeled and chopped); 1 tbsp all-purpose flour; 1 cup chicken stock; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp dried oregano; 6 oz Monterey Jack, coarsely grated; 1 lime, cut into wedges; white onion, finely chopped, to finish; cilantro, torn, to finish; salt, pepper

The chile goes around them and never over them. That is the whole rule, and it is the difference between dinner and soup with dumplings in it.

At a Glance

Time

45 min

Adjust servings

Story

New Mexican green chile is thickened, usually with a spoon of flour cooked into the fat, and that is not a thickness preference. It is why the chile sits on a burger rather than soaking into the bun, and it is the only reason this works. A thin chile floods the plate and turns every pierogi to pulp inside a minute. A thickened one pools where you put it and stays there.

Ingredients

14 oz potato and cheese pierogiesfrozen (no need to thaw)
5 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground pork
1 large yellow oniondiced
4 cloves garlicchopped
2 × 4 oz can chopped green chilesroasted, liquid and all (or 1½ cups fresh roasted poblano or anaheim, peeled and chopped)
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
6 oz Monterey Jackcoarsely grated
1 limecut into wedges
white onionfinely chopped, to finish
cilantrotorn, to finish
saltpepper

Method

Hatch chiles are Anaheims grown in one valley in New Mexico, which is why they are a September event and a rumour the rest of the year. Canned roasted green chile is what most cooks there actually reach for out of season, and it is honest. Poblano is the easy fresh swap and gives you something milder and more vegetal.

The important part is the geometry. Roast them hard, keep the chile beside them rather than on them, and every pierogi still has a top worth biting when it reaches you.

Heat the oven to 425°F. Tip the pierogies out onto a big rimmed tray straight from the freezer, no boiling and no thawing. Pour over the oil, season, and turn them until every one is properly slicked. Spread them out so none are touching.
Roast 20 to 25 minutes without flipping or fussing, until they are puffed and deep gold and the undersides have gone hard.
Meanwhile, brown the pork in a wide pan over medium-high, breaking it up only after one side has taken real color. Season well.
Onion into the fat with a pinch of salt, 6 minutes, then the garlic, cumin and oregano for a minute more. Scatter the flour over and stir it about for 1 minute, until it stops smelling raw and starts gripping everything.
Chiles in with all their liquid, then the stock. Simmer 10 to 12 minutes, until it is thick enough that a spoon dragged through leaves a track that holds. This is the consistency the whole dish turns on.
Ladle the chile into four wide bowls and pile the pierogies in the middle so they stand clear of it. Cheese goes on the chile and nowhere near the pierogies. Raw onion, cilantro and a lime wedge each.

Anyone who stirs it into a single mass has made a perfectly nice stew and thrown away the only interesting thing about it.

For a crowd

8-10 people

Double everything and roast the pierogies on two sheet pans, swapping the racks halfway. Do not crowd one pan to save washing up, they steam rather than crisp and you have lost the point of the dish. The chile doubles in one pot with no changes and is better on the second day, so make it the morning of and reheat it loose with a splash of stock.