Chiles Rellenos Food

VEGETARIAN CHILES RELLENOS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add onions; cook 5 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring frequently. Stir in garlic; cook 1 min. Add water, potatoes and carrots; cover. Cook 10 min.; stir in zucchini. Cook, covered, 5 min. or until all vegetables are tender. Stir in tomato sauce and seasonings; simmer 3 min.
• Spoon into chiles; place in shallow baking dish. Cover.
• Bake 20 min. Top with cheese; bake; uncovered, 5 min. or until melted.

CHILES RELLENOS

Steps:

• Soften flour tortillas in a warm oven or in a microwave. This makes them easier to handle. I soften one tortilla at a time, build a relleno, and then warm another tortilla. If you warm them all at once, the last onces may get hard before you can roll them.
• Lay tortilla on flat surface, place 1/2 cup cheese in center of tortilla and place 1/4 to 1/2 can of chilies on top of cheese. Fold bottom of tortilla over the cheese/chilies (away from you), then hold that while you fold in both sides. Finally, fold top side of pouch back over the center and close by securing with a toothpick or two. This will need to hold the relleno closed while it's baking or frying (if it's loose, the insides will leak out). Repeat with the other tortillas until you have used all four.
• Place rellenos in deep fryer and fry for approximately 4 minutes on a fairly hot setting. If you don't have a deep fryer, place in a cast iron or other heavy skillet that has about 1 inch or so of oil in it, heated to a medium-hot setting. Fry on each side for about 2 minutes or until golden brown and the cheese in the center has had a chance to melt. If you don't want to fry, place rellenos on a baking sheet and bake in a hot oven (380 degrees F) for about 10 minutes (or until golden brown).
• While rellenos are cooking, heat salsa just until warm in small sauce pan over medium heat or about 1 minute in a microwave (on full power).
• If you fried the rellenos, drain on paper towels. If you baked them, go to the straight to the plate! Place chili rellenos in the center of a plate, remove all toothpicks, and cover each relleno in about half a cup of warm salsa. Serve immediately.
• They should be crunchy on the outside with warm melted cheese and chilies on the inside. Serve with refried beans, Mexican rice, warm tortilla chips, and a side salad.

CHILES RELLENOS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Roast the chiles on a hot grill or under a broiler on high heat. Use tongs to turn them occasionally, roasting until the skins are blackened and charred, about 20 minutes.
• When the skin of the peppers is sufficiently charred and blistered, remove from the heat, place in a bowl with plastic wrap, and let them cool to room temperature. Once cool, remove from bowl and peel the skin from the cooled chiles, rinsing your fingers if they become sticky. (Do not rinse the peppers themselves, as you will be washing away most of their flavor.) Be careful to not tear the chile while peeling it.
• Remove the seeds by making a small slice into the side of each chile, about 2 to 3 inches long, just big enough to get a spoon into. (Don't hesitate to use an existing tear if there is one.) Delicately insert the spoon into the pepper and scrape the seeds and the white membrane out, trying as hard as you can to not tear the flesh, as it can tear easily.
• Place 2 ounces of cheese into each pepper; work slowly, delicately, and without forcing. Don't over-stuff the chile, making sure the open edges of the pepper still come together.
• Place the flour on a large plate. Put a chile on the flour and sprinkle the rest of the flour on top. Rub your finger around on the surface of the pepper to make sure that it is completely coated, then dust off any excess flour and set chile aside. Repeat this procedure with each of the peppers.
• To prepare the batter, whip the egg whites in a chilled bowl until they are stiff.
• Briefly beat the egg yolks in a separate bowl.
• Then slowly and gently fold them into the beaten whites with the pinch of salt.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan to 350 F. Test it with a drop of batter before putting a whole chile in; if the drop sizzles and floats to the top, it's the right temperature. If it sinks, the oil is not ready; let it heat a little more.
• Once the oil is hot enough, hold the chiles one at a time by the stem and support the bottom with your fingers or a spoon. Dip the stuffed pepper into the batter and coat completely.
• Carefully place it into the hot oil to fry. Repeat with more chiles if there is room in your pan (don't overcrowd the pan). Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, turning over halfway until the batter is a crisp golden brown on all sides. Fry in batches if necessary.
• Remove the chiles from the oil and let them drain on paper towels until all the peppers have been fried.
• Serve chiles rellenos immediately. Enjoy!

CHILES RELLENOS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine first 7 ingredients in bowl. Season to taste with pepper. Pat chilies dry. Divide filling among chilies. Roll chilies up, enclosing filling. Transfer chilies to baking dish. Cover and bake until cheese mixture is very hot, about 15 minutes. Transfer chilies to plate. Ladle sauce around chilies. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

AUTHENTIC MEXICAN CHILI RELLENOS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack at about 6 inches from the heat source. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place peppers onto the prepared baking sheet, and cook under the preheated broiler until the skin of the peppers has blackened and blistered, about 10 minutes. Turn the peppers often to blacken all sides. Place the blackened peppers into a bowl, and tightly seal with plastic wrap. Allow the peppers to steam as they cool, about 15 minutes.
• Rinse cooled peppers under cold water to peel off the skins, and cut a slit along the long side of each pepper to remove the seeds and core. Rinse the peppers inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Stuff the peppers with strips of the cheese.
• Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with the baking powder. In a second metal bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until the whites form stiff peaks. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture. Place flour into a shallow bowl.
• Heat the vegetable shortening in a skillet over medium heat. Roll each stuffed pepper in flour, tap off excess flour, and dip the peppers into the egg mixture to coat both sides. Gently lay the coated peppers into the hot shortening. Fry peppers until lightly golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes per side.

CHILE RELLENO

Steps:

• Rice and beans, for serving, if desired
• Heat grill to medium.
• Grill and char the chiles on both sides. Once blackened put in a plastic bag for 10 minutes to sweat out any moisture. Remove from the bag, slit them down the middle and remove the seeds. Stuff the peppers with the queso fresco and use toothpicks to hold them together.
• Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Add the egg whites to a large bowl. Reserve the egg yolks. Beat the egg whites with an electric beater until the whites fluff up. Add in the flour and the egg yolks and mix until completely incorporated.
• Add the oil to a frying pan over medium heat. Dip the stuffed peppers into the batter and fry until golden brown on both sides. Remove from the oil to a serving platter.
• Add the tomatoes and water to a small pot over medium heat. Simmer the tomatoes until soft and stir in the garlic and chicken broth powder.
• Add the 1/4 cup of oil to a frying pan, over low heat, and stir in the flour to make a roux mixture. Cook the flour until browned, then add the tomato sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes and then add the oregano.
• Pour the tomato sauce over the cooked chile rellenos on the serving platter and serve.
• If desired, serve with rice and beans.

MEAT-FILLED CHILE POBLANO RELLENOS

Steps:

• Make the filling first. Put the dove meat and the onions and garlic in a food processor and pulse it a few times, just to get a kinda-sorta rough grind. You could also chop everything by hand.
• Put the meat, onions and garlic into a frying pan with the lard and brown them over medium-high heat for 5 minutes or so. Add the tomato puree, spices and salt and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the pine nuts and chopped dates. Cook until the filling becomes a cohesive mass, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.
• Make the sauce. Buzz the chiles, onion and garlic in a blender, adding the sauce to combine. Heat the lard in a saute pan over medium-high heat until it's hot, then pour in the sauce. It will spatter, but stir it vigorously for a minute or two, then turn the heat down. Add salt to taste and turn the heat to its lowest setting.
• Char the skins of the poblanos over a gas burner if you have one. This is the best method because it doesn't cook the peppers too much. If you don't have a gas range, use a grill or a broiler. When the skins are all blackened, put the peppers in a closed environment -- a bag, a bowl with a lid, etc. -- and let them sit for 20 minutes before wiping the skins off with your fingers. Try not to use water to do this, as it will rinse away some of the flavor of the chile.
• Now make a slit in each chile from the top to about 1 inch from the bottom. Carefully remove the seeds (you may need a paring knife to cut the seed ball out) and flush the seeds out of the inside of the pepper with running water; yes, this saps some flavor, but it beats picking out every damn seed by hand.
• To make the batter, beat the egg whites with the salt until they just begin to hold a peak. Beat in one egg yolk at a time, then add a tablespoon or two of flour. Set aside.
• Get your oil going. You want it to reach 1 inch up the side of your pot, and you want it to hit 375°F. This will take a bit of time.
• While the oil is heating, stuff your peppers. Lay some cheese into each pepper and then stuff the filling into them. Keep in mind you will need to reclose each pepper, so don't overfill.
• Dust each pepper in the flour, then, when your oil is ready, coat with the batter. Lay a pepper or two in the hot oil seam side up. Fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Carefully turn and fry the seam side another 3 or 4 minutes. If you can't get all the peppers fried quickly, set the finished ones on paper towels in a baking sheet, and put the baking sheet in an oven set to "warm."
• To finish, pour some sauce on everyone's plate and top with a relleno. Garnish with cilantro if you'd like.

CHILES RELLENOS

Steps:

• Char the chiles.
• Turn a gas burner on high. Char the chiles on the burner grate, turning with tongs (Marcela is a pro and uses her hands!), until blackened all over. Or char the chiles under the broiler.
• Let them soften.
• Transfer the charred chiles to a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag and close. Let stand 10 minutes. The chiles will steam in the bag, making them soft and easy to peel.
• Remove the skin.
• Gently rub the chiles with paper towels to remove as much skin as possible. It's okay if a few flecks remain-they'll add flavor, so don't rinse them off.
• Open the chiles.
• Using a paring knife, make a slit across the top of a chile just below the stem, leaving the stem intact. Starting from the middle of the slit, slice lengthwise down to the tip of the pepper (cut through only one layer). Open the chile like a book and pull out the seeds and inner membranes. You may need to use a paring knife to loosen the top of the seedpod. Repeat with the remaining chiles.
• Prepare the sauce.
• Puree the tomatoes, onion and garlic in a blender until smooth. Warm the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the tomato puree and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally; the sauce will be broth-y. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.
• Make the filling.
• Place the cheese in a bowl, then add the oregano, crumbling and rubbing it with your fingers to release its flavor. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.
• Stuff the chiles.
• Fill each chile with about 1/4 cup cheese mixture. Fold in the sides to cover the filling, then thread 2 toothpicks across the seam to form an X. You will probably need to make a second toothpick X to secure each chile so the filling doesn't leak out when you fry.
• Mix the batter.
• Beat the egg whites with a mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Add the egg yolk and beat 3 more minutes.
• Batter and fry.
• Heat about 1 inch vegetable oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F.
• Dredge: Pour flour into a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. One at a time, coat the stuffed chiles with the flour.
• Batter: Holding each chile by the stem, lower it into the egg batter to cover completely. Let any excess batter drip off.
• Fry: Add the chiles to the hot oil, 1 or 2 at a time; fry, flipping once with tongs, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
• Eat!
• Place a fried chile on each plate and pour the warm sauce over it. Serve immediately.

CHILES RELLENOS

Steps:

• To prepare the chiles:
• Position a rack on the upper most shelf of the broiler element and preheat. Put the chiles on a foil-lined broiler pan and broil, turning occasionally with tongs, until the skin is charred, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chiles to a bowl, cover, and cool for 10 minutes.
• Carefully rub the charred skin off the chiles. Using a small knife, make a lengthwise slit along the side of each chile to form a pocket. Carefully cut out and discard the seeds.
• Cut the cheese into 6 (1/4-inch-thick) slabs, about 3/4 the length of each chile (your chiles probably vary in length, so tailor the cheese to the chiles). Slip the cheese pieces into the pocket of each chile so they're 2/3 full. (If the cheese protrudes from the chiles, just cut a little off.) "Sew" each chile shut with a wooden skewer or long toothpick. (The skewers should be longer than the chiles, so they can be easily pulled out after frying.)
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, cumin, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the beer to a make a smooth batter.
• In a large, wide, heavy-bottomed pot, pour in the oil to a depth of about 3 inches. Heat over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer inserted in the oil registers 365 degrees F.
• Put the flour for dredging on a plate. Working in 2 batches, dredge the chiles in the flour (the dampness of the chiles creates a light paste with the flour that seals over any tears), dip in the batter, and carefully add to the oil. Fry, turning the chiles once, until golden brown and crispy, about 4 minutes per batch. Using tongs, transfer the chiles rellenos to a dry paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Sprinkle with salt, to taste. Gently pull out and discard the skewers.
• Heat the sauce. Spoon some of the sauce on a plate and set 1 chile relleno on top. Repeat with the remaining sauce and chiles. Serve.
• In a blender, combine all the ingredients and puree until smooth.
• Transfer the tomato puree to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until slightly thick, about 10 minutes.
• Yield: about 3 cups