TANGY POBLANO GRAVY

For gravy that is bright, use buttermilk

“The gravy tasted like burnt herbs. All I wanted was to squeeze fresh lime juice all over my plate.”

I’m over here marveling at my *humble opinion* about classic Thanksgiving flavors in a national publication. A big thank you to the Food & Wine editors for never censoring my high-acid tendencies.

It’s true that cooking with sage, allspice, pumpkin, Brussel sprouts—and really, the whole classic Thanksgiving spread— is a bit of an acquired taste if you come from a country whose cuisine is known for its unabashed love of heat, smoke, and acid.

My Tangy Poblano Gravy is everything I wish for in gravy.

It’s also the 2.0 version of my original Buttermilk-Poblano Gravy, which I originally published on Food & Wine in 2019 and you’re not going to believe this but my gravy made it to NASA.

I know, I really said NASA!

Food & Wine editors chose my recipe in celebration of the first-ever harvest of chiles on the International Space Station. I’m fully aware that I will never see one of my recipes and NASA in one sentence ever again so still reveling in this moment. Also, how cool is this little image:

In this updated version of my recipe for Fresca readers, I went full velvety and pureed both poblanos for a smooth pool of gravy, and for more of that subtle smokiness of fire-roasted poblanos. I also upped the buttermilk, adding a refreshing tang that will keep you ladling more and more over turkey, or mashed potatoes.

Just a thought, but this gravy could be a great base for the most memorable pot pie. And since it’s roux-based, it maintains the rib-sticking properties that a good gravy should always have.

This year, I’ll be observing Thanksgiving by unlearning, learning, and reflecting on the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians as a direct result of colonization. It’s important to acknowledge that Thanksgiving too is built around the same principle: colonialism and the massacre of Indigenous peoples.

On Thanksgiving, I’ll be cooking from Reem Assil’s IACP award-winning cookbook, Arabiyya. Reem is a multiple award-winning Palestinian-Syrian speaker and chef based in Oakland, CA working at the intersection of food, community, and social justice. I’ve been pouring over Arabiyya for delicious recipes such as “Butternut Squash-Tahini, Lamb Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce with Mint Oil, and Gazan Clay Pot Shrimp” to name a few. But I’ve also been learning about life, the foodways, and the history of Palestine through Reem’s eyes.

I’m humbled and inspired by Reem and the resilience of the Palestinian fight. Please support Reem’s work in any way you’re able to.

Thanksgiving is also a great time to donate to your local Indigenous land trust or organization, like Friends of Puvungna. Puvungna is a locus of cultural contestation due to centuries of Euro-American colonization. It has become increasingly under threat in the past few decades, from parking lots to strip malls and the most recent dumping of construction debris.

Puvungna is the Indian village that once occupied the land where Cal State Long Beach now stands. Puvungna remains sacred to the Gabrielino and other Indian people as a spiritual center. Ethnohistoric evidence clearly identifies Puvungna with Rancho Los Alamitos, a portion of which became the Cal State Long Beach campus. More than a dozen archaeological sites spread over an area of about 500 acres on and near the campus have been identified as Puvungna village sites. Most of these have been destroyed by development.

Please consider making a donation to Friends of Puvungna to clean up after Cal State Long Beach dumped roughly 6,400 cubic yards of construction debris on Puvungna. The university's contractors drove heavy equipment over ceremonial areas to build parking lots and structures. Friends of Puvungna's goal is to preserve and restore Puvungna as a place of healing and to honor the land.

And enjoy this gravy!

Your subscription of $5/month covers my ridiculous grocery expenses, so many hours of recipe development, and testing, plus all of the resources that go into creating Fresca for you. Thank you for supporting my work.

Tangy Poblano Gravy

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

2 large (4-ounce) poblano chiles
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup chopped yellow onion
1 ½ cups vegetable stock or turkey stock, warmed
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons whole buttermilk
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Step 1
Using kitchen tongs, place both chiles directly over a medium flame of a gas stovetop. Cook until the exterior is blackened, 5 minutes per side. Place chiles in a bowl, and cover with a plate to steam, 10 minutes.

Step 2
Using a pairing knife, rub off the spine of the knife (the unsharpened side of the blade away from the edge) against the chiles to remove as much of the blackened skin as you can. (it’s okay if all of the skin doesn’t come off.) Remove and discard stems and seeds. Roughly chop the chiles.

Step 3
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium skillet over medium. Add onion and chiles. Cook until onion is soft, 5 minutes. Transfer onion and chiles to a blender along with ½ cup warm stock and process until smooth, 30 seconds.

Step 4
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the same skillet over low heat. Whisk in flour, and cook, whisking constantly, until the roux is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium. Add onion-chile puree and remaining 1 cup warm stock, and cook, whisking constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add buttermilk. Simmer gently to allow flavors to meld, about 2 minutes. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and black pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Cooking Notes

Poblano peppers can be roasted, peeled, and cut 2 days ahead.

You can roast poblanos under the broiler, turning often on all sides until charred.