Janos Wilder's Apple and Walnut Rellenos

Janos Wilder is a renowned Tucson chef who strives to use local ingredients in the dishes served at his restaurant at the Westin La Paloma Resort and J Bar, a more casual eatery, that serves Latin, Southwestern and Caribbean-inspired food.

Some of Wilder's sources for local foods in Tucson are Native Seeds/SEARCH and the Food Conspiracy Co-op on 4th Avenue, the 17th Street Farmers Market, and FlavorBank for local salts and spices.

This recipe, a holiday version of Chile Rellenos, is from Wilder's newest cookbook.

From the chef:

We created this recipe as a vegetarian variation of Chiles en Nogados found in Like Water for Chocolate. We use dried apples rather than fresh in stuffing because they have a more intense flavor and we find that with the juice from the grapes we don’t want any more liquid in the stuffing. This is a great Autumn and Holiday dish because the flavors are festive and bright and the walnuts and apples signal the change of seasons. The fig garnish reinforces the sweet fruitiness of the dish and is also a great little snack it its own right. Pomegranate seeds sprinkled over the rellenos and sauce look like beautiful little jewels on the dish and add great flavor and a little crunch.

For the Stuffing:

Yield: 4 Anaheim Chiles
Ingredients:
1/3 Cup yellow onions, finely diced
3 oz dried apples, cut into small pieces
1 ½ oz walnut pieces
4 oz queso casero (or queso fresco or panela)
2 oz cream cheese
15 green grapes, cut in half lengthwise
4 Anaheim Chiles prepared for rellenos

Procedure:
1. Saute the onions with the apples seasoning with salt and pepper so that the onions caramelize and the apples are soft.
2. Toast the walnuts so that their oils come out and the flavor is pronounced.
3. In the mixer, blend the cream cheese with the queso casero then fold in the yellow onions, apples and walnut pieces by hand
4. Gently fold in the grape halves by hand so as not to break them.
5. Stuff the prepared chilies and wipe them so they are clean on the outside.
6. Bake the peppers at 350 degrees about 5 minutes until hot throughout.

For the Walnut Sauce:

Yield: 2 Cups
Ingredients:

1/4 yellow onion, diced
3 oz toasted walnut pieces
2 oz dried apples
8 oz apple juice
2 oz cider vinegar
8 oz heavy cream

Procedure:
1. Saute the onions.
2. Add the walnuts, dried apples, apple juice and apple cider and reduce by half. Puree and strain.
3. Return the puree to the stove.
4. Wisk in the cream and reduce by 1/3.

For the Fig Garnish:
Figs Stuffed with Whole Roasted Walnuts, Queso Casero and Agave Nectar Glaze

Yield: 4 Mission figs
Ingredients:

4 whole roasted walnut halves
2 TBSP queso casero (or queso fresco or panela)
4 fresh Mission figs
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp agave nectar
½ oz rosemary leaves

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

1. Slice each fit into quarters from the tip stem end towards the bottom, stopping a little before you reach the bottom so that the fig remains intact and you can open the quarters with your fingers
2. Stuff each fig with a walnut half and about a ½ TBSP of queso casero and secure them with toothpicks.
3. Drizzle with olive oil, agave nectar and the rosemary leaves and bake in oven for about 12 minutes as the cheese melts and the figs cook.

To Assemble the dish.
Ingredients:
¼ Cup Pomegranate seeds

1. Divide the sauce equally between four plates and and place relleno on the sauce on each plate
2. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds on the relleno and in the sauce.
3. Place each fig as a garnish for each relleno and drizzle a little bit of the agave nectar-olive oil glaze over each fig.