Chile Rellenos

I grew up in New Hampshire. New Hampshire is known for many great things, but authentic Mexican food is not one of them. Growing up, I never tasted, or even heard of, Chile Rellenos. But now that I live out West, I have access to many a different and delicious Chile Relleno. Its somewhat spicy, very cheesy, and fried. What's not to love?

My Rellenos did not turn out as well as the kind in  a restaurant (no surprise there) but were still pretty delicious. So without further ado: 

First you need the roast the chilies. I used poblano, which the right kind if you're going for authenticity, but you could really use whatever pepper you like. Jalepenos would make a nice small and very spicy relleno. Any big, mild pepper like anaheim or hatch would work well, too. 

To roast them, place them in the broiler, close to the flame, for about 15 minutes. Keep an eye on them and turn them every so often so all the sides get roasted. You want the skin to get black and blistery and start to come away from the pepper, but you don't want to burn the flesh of the pepper. Once they are roasted, place the chilis in a bowl with saran wrap over it. This will steam the chilies and help loosen the skin.

Meanwhile, blend together onions, garlic and tomatoes until there are no chunks left. Heat 1-2 tsbp. oil in a pan. Run the tomato mixture through a strainer, and into the pan. Add broth and lightly simmer this while you are prepping the chilies, and it will become your sauce. 

Its a good idea to wear gloves when handling peppers, so you don't take out your contacts later and burn your eyeballs (like I keep doing). Let the chilies steam about 10 minutes, then take them out and peel off the skin. It may not all come off super easy, but try to get all the skin off if you can, because it will taste bitter.

Once the chilies are roasted and peeled, make a slit along one side and remove the seeds. Rinse the chilies and now they are ready to be stuffed!

You can stuff them with whatever you like, but the kind that is most common out here is stuffed with cheese. I used a type of cheese called Queso Fresco Casero (I think, I can't actually remember and I threw the packaging away). Anyways, it didn't melt very well. Oaxaca queso would probably work better, or you could even use something like Colby or Jack cheese. 

Once you stuff the peppers, you want to roll them in flour to coat all sides. Then you dip them in an egg batter.

The egg batter is made with egg whites only. Make sure you don't get any yolk in the whites when you are separating them, or they won't whip up correctly. Beat the eggs until they form stiff peaks. (This is where an electric mixer comes in handy).

Meanwhile, heat oil in your pan. You want at least 1/2 inch of oil. Make sure to get it nice and hot. When oil is between 365 and 375 degrees, it will cook the food without getting the food greasy. If the temp is too low, the oil will soak into the food, making it bad for your health and also bad to taste. If the oil is too hot, it will burn the food. A thermometer is a wonderful tool. 

Once the oil is hot. dip your floured, stuffed pepper into the egg white batter, and place immediately in the pan. Don't overcrowd the pan. Fry each pepper until the batter is golden brown (and hopefully the cheese is melted!). Once they are done, top with the tomato sauce, serve and enjoy!

These rellenos looks a hot tasty mess.

Chile Rellenos

6 poblano peppers

Cheese of your choice

1/3 c. flour

4 egg whites

6 tomatoes

1/4 onion

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup broth (chicken or veg)

1/2-1 c. vegetable oil

Roast, deseed and peel the peppers

Stuff with cheese, etc.

Roll in flour, then dip in egg batter and fry immediately

For the sauce:

blend tomatoes, garlic and onions

strain mixture

Add 2 tbsp. oil and tomato mixture to pan

add broth

simmer until it turns dark red