Red Pepper Chicken

The bakery's ninth anniversary. March 15, 2024. Nine years. The anniversary celebration is smaller this year because the wedding is five weeks away and every creative calorie is being directed toward April 20. But we marked it: free conchas, the photo wall updated (this year's addition: a drone photograph that Diego took, the bakery from above, the building small and bright against the grid of the Lower Valley streets, a rectangle of purpose in a city of rectangles). Sofia gave her speech from the step stool, year six: brief this year, three sentences. "Nine years. We broke one hundred thousand. Next year: Anapra." Three sentences. The future in three sentences. The shortest and most powerful speech of the series.

The Juárez fund: eighteen thousand seven hundred. Twelve months from the target. Twelve more Rosa's Kitchen dinners, twelve more infusions of seven hundred dollars, and the fund will be at twenty-seven thousand, close enough to the thirty-thousand target to see the finish line, and the finish line is a building in Anapra, and the building is Diego's design, and the design is ready, and the readiness is the faith.

I made chile colorado for the anniversary dinner. Year nine. One more year to ten. One more chile colorado to the decade mark, and the decade mark will be the most important chile colorado I have ever made because ten years of the same recipe is ten years of the promise, and ten years of the promise is the promise fulfilled, not because ten is the number of fulfillment but because ten is the number I chose, the number I said to myself at Rosa's grave: I will do this for ten years and then I will know that the recipes are safe. Ten. One more. One more September 15 with chile colorado. One more year of the promise. And then the promise shifts from keeping to spreading, and the spreading is the second bakery, and the second bakery is year ten's gift to Rosa.

Chile colorado has been my anniversary dish since year one — the same recipe, the same pot, the same promise made at Rosa’s grave — and this year, year nine, was no different. When I want to bring that same deep red warmth to the table on a night that isn’t the anniversary itself, this Red Pepper Chicken is the recipe that carries the spirit forward: the slow color, the layered heat, the feeling that something important is being tended. One more year. One more red pot on the stove.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 large red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, and roughly chopped
4 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 dried ancho chile, stemmed and seeded
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium white onion, diced
1 can (14.5 oz) crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano (Mexican preferred)
1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp neutral oil (such as avocado or vegetable)
Fresh cilantro and warm tortillas, for serving

Instructions

Rehydrate the chiles. Place the dried guajillo and ancho chiles in a small saucepan with 1 cup of water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover, and cook 8–10 minutes until softened. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the soaking liquid, and set aside.
Build the sauce. Transfer the rehydrated chiles, roasted red peppers, crushed tomatoes, and reserved soaking liquid to a blender. Blend on high until completely smooth, about 60 seconds. Set aside.
Brown the chicken. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Working in two batches to avoid crowding, brown the chicken on all sides, about 3–4 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Soften the aromatics. Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion to the same pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, and oregano, and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Simmer together. Pour the blended red pepper sauce into the pan along with the chicken broth. Stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the browned chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly.
Finish and serve. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt as needed. Serve over rice or with warm corn tortillas, garnished with fresh cilantro.

Nutrition (per serving)

Red Pepper Chicken — The Flavor of a Promise Almost Kept