Chicken Sofrito Filling

 

This is the classic Cuban filling for a tamal. The cachucha is an aromatic, but not particularly piquant chili shaped like a miniature pattypan squash. Look for it in Hispanic markets or substitute green bell pepper.

Yield: Makes enough to fill 12 tamales

INGREDIENTS

• 12 cachucha chilies (see Notes) or ½ green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and minced
• 8 cloves garlic
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ cup minced onion
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• ½ cup peeled, seeded, and diced tomato
• 10 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into ½-inch dice
• Salt, to taste

Directions

1. Place the chilies and garlic in a mortar and pound to a coarse paste. (You can also do this in a food processor.) Pound in the cumin and white pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a nonreactive small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and chili mixture and cook until soft but not brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cilantro; tomato, chicken, and salt. Cook until the chicken is done, about 5 minutes. Correct the seasonings, adding salt and while pepper to taste.

Notes

Visit a Hispanic greengrocer, not to mention the produce section of many a Miami supermarket, and you’ll find a tiny chili pepper with a scalloped crown that looks like a pattypan squash. In Cuban Spanish it’s called cachucha. Elsewhere in the Caribbean it’s known as rocotillo pepper or aji dulce.
Whatever you call it, the cachucha chili is great news for people who like the aromatic flavor of a scotch bonnet chili but can’t take the latter’s fiery bite. For the distinctively flavored cachucha has none of the hotness associated with other Caribbean chilies. It looks hot and smells hot, but actually it’s as mild as a common bell pepper.
Cachucha chiles are usually light green in color, but occasionally you’ll find a yellow or red one mixed in. When buying cachuchas, look for fresh, springy looking chilies free of shriveling or black spots.
To ready cachuchas for cooking, remove the sterns. Many Cuban cooks tear the chilies open and remove the seeds as well. If cachucha chilies are unavailable, green bell peppers or cubanelle peppers make an acceptable substitute.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Nutrients per serving

Nutritional information includes 1 teaspoon of added salt.

Calories 54 kcal

Calcium 1 % daily value

Vitamin C 10 % daily value

Vitamin A 0 % daily value

Potassium 128 mg

Magnesium 9 mg

Protein 5 g

Sugar 0 g

Fiber 0 g

Total Carbohydrate 2 g

Cholesterol 15 mg

Sodium 222 mg

Saturated Fat 0 g

Fat 3 g

Iron 1 % daily value