Chile Rellenos

Ingredients

1 egg for every two peppers (For 6 peppers, 3 4 cups high temp oil (I used sunflower but you can any kind that can take high heat)

1 cup white flour

1 large block of mozarella, panela (mexican white cheese), or

1 deep fry pan or wok

28 oz can of whole tomatoes (I used Muir Glen)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 onions, chopped

of salt

toothpicks

Preparation

Directions

First step is to char your peppers until they are blackened and blistery (but dont burn them totally!). I chose to do this on my grill outside. Make sure to turn them frequently for an even char. When they are done, put them in a paper bag for 20 min.

Set oven to 350 degrees.

Next, start your sauce. Sauté garlic and onion with a little oil until translucent. Then, add tomatoes and salt, and set to simmer. You want the sauce nice and watery but flavorful

While the sauce is simmering, start separating the eggs, one bowl for the whites, one for the yolk. Next, beat the whites with a hand mixer until stiff. Mix the yolks gently in a separate bowl and add to the stiff whites. You should have a light yellow foamy mixture.

Slice the cheese into thin strips, the length of your peppers.

Peel the cooled peppers, gently, using cold water. Be very careful so as not to rip them (as much as possible). Once they are peeled, slice them lengthwise, and very carefully remove seeds and stems. Pat them dry with a paper towel. Next, coat the outside of the peppers with a little white flour.

Now you are ready to start the fun. Put 1-2 inches of oil in a deep pan (I used a wok) and set it to high. Be careful to adjust temp lower if oil is splattering.

While oil is heating, insert cheese strips into the peppers, and “stitch” up the pepper using toothpicks.

You are now ready to deep fry. Using a strainer spoon, or heat proof tongs, pick up a pepper and coat in egg batter. Gently place in the hot oil, until lightly browned on each side. When finished, make sure to let the hot oil drip off and put the relleno in a deep enchilada pan, filled with your already finished tomato sauce. When all the rellenos are fried and in the sauce in the pan, stick them in the oven for 10 minutes so the cheese ca n melt.

Serve with rice, avocado slices, and sprinkle with cotija if you have some. Don’t forget to take out the toothpicks!

These were excellent, especially the next day for breakfast.

The poblanos are in season right now (summer) and fresh peppers gave the dish some extra kick which is sometimes lacking when you order rellenos at restaurants.