Vegan Rajas

If you are like "What the heck is a raja??" You are not alone! I had no clue what this dish was until my best friend, Olga, made it for me and INSTANTLY was in LOVE! Rajas con crema is the name given to a Mexican dish consisting of sliced poblano pepper with cream (the name literally means "slices" in Spanish). It is very popular in Mexico, particularly in the central and southern parts of the country. But for pepper lovers in Mexico, rajas simply refers to roasted poblano chile strips. You can serve rajas as a side dish for your favorite meal or they can also be used as a filling for sandwiches, tacos, burritos or quesadillas. You can find poblano peppers in the produce section of your grocery store and you want to get the dark green & glossy ones. I used 6 of them and the dish was extra spicy so you could always cut it back to 4 if you can't take too much heat!

Olga had never made rajas vegan style so when she attempted it and NAILED it, I knew I would have to post the recipe! This is a Mexican dish usually made with cow's milk cream and cheese but we used a basic Cashew Sour Cream and it worked PERFECTLY! This is going to be a staple in our house from now on! I hope you guys love it as much as we do!

Ingredients:

• 6 poblano chiles, roasted and sliced
• 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 3 on the vine tomatoes, seeds removed and thinly sliced
• 1/2-1 cup Cashew Sour Cream
• salt to taste
• 1/4 cup veggie broth (this is OIL FREE)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Wash the poblanos well and dry off. Lay out on an unbleached parchment paper lined baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, flipping half way through.**
3. Turn the oven up to BROIL, flip the chilies again and watch carefully. You want them to be charred nicely. 
4. After they’re charred on all sides, remove them from oven and place them in a plastic bag. Seal the bag and keep them for about two minutes. This process allows the chiles to sweat nicely, continue cooking and makes it easy for you to remove the top layers.
5. Remove the chiles from the bag and take the charred layer off each one. Cut off the tops and remove the seeds.
6. Thinly slice each one and set aside.
7. In a large pan, add 1/4 cup veggie broth and bring heat up to medium.
8. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes then turn the heat medium low.
9. Add the roasted poblano chile strips, tomato and salt as needed. Stir to mix well.
10. Allow to cook until the onions are soft and the dish is fragrant.
11. Add in the cashew cream a couple Tbsp at a time until you reached a desired creaminess. For this amount of of peppers I ended up adding in about 3/4 cup cream.
12. Stir well and serve! I made my Refried Beans and Cassava Tortillas to make this dish complete!

**NOTE: (If you have a gas stove you can char these over the fire! Over high heat, place the chiles on the grate of your stove and roast until they’re charred. Turn each side for 30 seconds or so.)