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Chile rellenos using poblano peppers (stuffed poblano peppers) are a very popular Mexican dish made from roasted peppers and stuffed with cheese, then coated in a "fluffy" egg batter, fried to perfection and then served with Chile relleno sauce. Yummy!
Many of you are probably not expecting Mexican recipes from me. I'm a foodie and love, love good food from around the world. And I'm always hunting for true authentic recipes.
Today I have in my kitchen a guest who is from Mexico, and she is a true Mexican home cooking expert. I just love to hear all the stories from Leyla about her background and all the traditional recipes. I have discovered a few that are similar to Ukrainian cuisine. Surprise! Surprise!
She taught me how to correctly make chili relleno and also the easiest way. Take a few simple ingredients and one hour of your time and you are on a way to experiencing a delicious treat.
WHAT DO I LIKE ABOUT CHILE RELLENO (STUFFED POBLANO PEPPERS)?
The very first time I heard about this dish was probably a decade ago while watching a TV show about cooking on a budget. Since then I always wanted to make it, and my first attempts were not meant with much success. But the recipe I am sharing with you today is truly foolproof.
Easy to make!
Vegetarian friendly!
With little changes like to sub all-purpose flour with cassava flour. FYI... this is a keto friendly recipe!
Quick and fun to make!
Great recipe to involve children in the preparation process!
Many ways they can be served!
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE CHILE RELLENO (STUFFED POBLANO PEPPERS)?
Poblano pepper - the bigger the better, because they are easier to stuff.
Cheese - I used mozzarella in the video, any cheese that can melt well will work, or use a combination of cheeses.
Onion - regular or white Spanish onion is great, and in this recipe we used onion 3 different ways, 1st in the chile relleno red sauce, 2d thinly sliced in the filling along with cheese, and 3rd, which totally surprised to me, was to flavor the oil before we cooked down the sauce.
Garlic - for the sauce.
Tomato - plum tomatoes are a first choice for their meaty texture.
Spices - salt, pepper, chili pepper, cumin. Very simple on spices, but you can add as little as you like or more if you like spicy food.
Eggs - one egg per large pepper, if you stuff more peppers, the eggs won't keep their fluffiness for too long, so you may need to quickly re-fluff the eggs so working with small batches is easier.
Toothpicks - just in case your peppers are falling apart after stuffing, you can secure them with a toothpick.
HOW TO ROAST POBLANO PEPPERS?
Roasted peppers are very easy and essential for many recipes.
To roast poblano peppers there are many different ways it can be done.
In fact any type of peppers can be roasted.
But before explaining HOW to roast, I will explain the WHY of taking this extra step.
Roasting gives the peppers extra kick by producing a certain culinary flavor due to the charring as well as it pulls out the sweetness of the peppers. Beware, some poblanos can be spicy!
CHOOSE YOUR WAY OF ROASTING:
Roast in your oven under the broiler!
Roast on an open flame by turning the peppers with a kitchen tong!
Roast on the grill, or griddle! In the video, we used the indoor griddle.
Whichever you use after they have charred, place them in a bowl and cover very tightly with plastic wrap, because the peppers have to sweat, and afterward the peeling will be easy and quick. This part is a great job for your kiddos.
HOW TO MAKE CHILE RELLENO (STUFFED POBLANO PEPPERS)?
Making Chile relleno is easy and and can be completed in 3 simple stages:
Roasting, sweating, peeling and stuffing the poblano peppers.
Making Chile relleno sauce, simple red salsa.
Fluffing the eggs, coating and frying.
ARE POBLANO PEPPERS SPICY?
Poblano chilies (peppers) have low levels of capsaicin, so they are lower on the Scoville scale (1,000-2,000), which measures the spiciness of chiles.
Did you know that this mild Chile is also called ancho Chile when it's dried?
If you love peppers, try My family's all-time favorite Beef Chili
Ukrainian Style Stuffed Sweet Peppers with Ground Meat and Farro
TIPS FOR MAKING CHILE RELLENO (STUFFED PEPPERS)?
Buy the largest poblano peppers that you can find. My friend Leyla brought beautiful peppers, I think the biggest I have seen, which allows you to stuff with more cheese. I learned that for one large pepper you need one medium sized egg.
Use a different cheese. Feel free to use another type of cheese if that’s all you have. Traditionally, chile relleno is made with Oaxaca cheese (queso de hebra), but you could also use mozzarella like we did in the video, or cheddar, pepper jack, provolone or another good melting cheese of your choice.
Add a different filling. To make this more like a well-rounded one chile meal, feel free to mix in some other ingredients such as meat or mushrooms. Some good options would be pulled pork, carnitas and shredded chicken.
Don’t overcrowd the frying pan. I typically fry 2 chile rellenos at a time even though the pan can fit 3.
Work quickly. The egg batter will lose its "fluff" pretty quickly, so make sure the all ingredients are lined up and ready to go before you bring your fluffed eggs into the game.
HOW TO SERVE CHILE RELLENO (STUFFED POBLANO PEPPERS)?
Many ways:
As an appetizer!
Or complete meal for brunch, lunch or dinner!
I like to serve with rice, grilled fish or chicken for dinner.
Or roll a tortilla as a burrito for lunch with a little salad and sliced avocados, etc.
There are so many ways to eat and enjoy it.
I hope you give it to try soon.
CAN I FREEZE CHILE RELLENO (STUFFED POBLANO PEPPERS)?
You can freeze it!
Just before the frying process place peppers into a freeze-able zip lock bag and label for 3 months. When you are ready to use, defrost and fry as you would previously with fresh peppers.
LET'S DO IT...
Prep time: 5 minutes
Making time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
Author: Inna of innichkachef.com
Yield: 6 portions
Ingredients for the peppers
6 large poblano peppers
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, sliced
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
6 eggs (yolks and whites separated)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Oil for frying (we used grapeseed oil in the video)
Tooth picks just in case some of the peppers fall apart.
Ingredients for the red sauce
6 plum tomatoes
3-4 cloves garlic
1 small onion (plus one slice to flavor the oil)
1 tablespoon salt, freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili
1 teaspoon cumin seeds (rub between your fingers before adding)
3 sprigs cilantro
1-2 tablespoons of oil
Directions
Turn on the griddle and place peppers. Now add all veggies (tomato, garlic and onion) to the griddle. Use tongs to rotate peppers often to char all sides.
Place blackened peppers into a bowl and tightly seal with plastic wrap. Allow peppers to steam as they cool, about 15 minutes.
Remove skin from peppers, don't stress if you are unable to completely remove all the skin.
Then cut a slit down the long side of each one to remove seeds and core, if you wish, we didn't.
Stuff peppers with alternating slices of cheese and onion.
Beat egg whites with an electric mixer starting with low speed and continue increasing the speed until egg whites are formed into soft peaks. Add yolks and continue to beat for another 30 seconds on a low speed.
Roll each stuffed pepper in flour, tap off excess flour, and dip into the egg mixture to coat both sides. Gently lay coated peppers into the hot oil. Fry peppers until lightly golden brown and cheese has melted, about 5 minutes per side. Use kitchen tongs to flip peppers and do so gently as you can to avoid splashing hot oil and to maintain the fluffiness of the eggs.
To make the sauce, place all charred veggies (tomatoes, onion and garlic) into a blender, add spices and blend all together until it is a nice and smooth consistency.
Take a saucepot and on low-medium heat, add 1-2 tablespoons of oil, (this will depend on the size of your pot). Add 1-2 slices of onion. Warm up for 2-3 minutes. Then pour the blender mixture into the saucepot. Add cilantro (no need to chop), and cook on low-medium heat for 5 minutes. Fish out the cilantro and set aside. Your sauce is ready.
To serve peppers, place one pepper per portion and generously pour sauce, I served also with rice to create a nice complete dinner meal.
Enjoy!
