Chili Stuffing:

Toast the chili, onion and garlic separately in a saute pan without any oil. The chili should be fragrant without a burnt smell. After two minutes, a slight brown/ black color will develop on each side. Break open chilis after toasted and remove the seeds. The onion and garlic should also be toasted and develop a black color but not smell burnt.

Add the chili, onion, garlic, and stock to a sauté pan over high heat. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to low-medium and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.

Puree the sauce with a hand blender. Continue to cook the sauce over medium heat and add the maseca slowly with a whisk, as if cooking polenta. Whisk the maseca until fully incorporated and the texture becomes creamy and thick. 

Season the stuffing with salt and pepper to taste, and then add honey. Chill in the refrigerator until ready for use.

Glazed Carrots:

Bring a pot of water to boil. Blanch the carrots until they are slightly tender but not soft, and then shock in ice water to stop cooking. 

Add carrots to a saucepan over medium heat. Add the stock, margarine, honey, and cumin. Allow the stock to reduce until syrupy and the carrots are glazed.

Chicken: 

Preheat oven to 450˚F.

.Take each thigh and butterfly open. Pound it out as thinly as possible and season with salt and pepper. 

Fill each thigh with the maseca filling and wrap the chicken around it. 

Put the chicken in a pan  just big enough to hold all the pieces, so that they touch in the pan and will not open up during cooking. 

Sprinkle the thighs with smoked paprika and bake for 20 minutes, or until an internal temperature of 165˚F is reached.

To complete the stuffed chicken thighs, spoon the glazed carrots into the middle of the plate. Drizzle the syrup from the pan around the carrots. Top with the stuffed chicken thigh.

Picture curtesy of MySister'sCupboard.