One of my favorite meals to order at Mexican restaurants is Chiles Rellenos, which simply translates to stuffed peppers. The basic form of this recipe uses a roasted chile poblano, that’s then stuffed with cheese, coated with an egg batter, and fried lightly. I love ordering them at restaurants because it’s almost impossible to mess up the flavor and because I am able to eat it without smelling like one when I leave the restaurant. Between roasting and the slight frying required for this dish your home will definitely acquire some yummy scents when you make this dish. None the less, it is completely worth it in the end.
I love Chiles Rellenos so much because of the perfect combination between a chile poblano and the melted cheese inside of it. However, there are any different ways to make a Chile Relleno. I’ve shared a recipe with you before that uses a chile ancho (dried version of the poblano) but today I wanted to share with you the most commonly made Chile Relleno.
Enjoy! You can also watch a video description of this recipe in my videos.
Serves approximately 4 people
Ingredients:
4 chiles Poblanos
2 cups Oaxaca cheese*
2 eggs (separated)
1 cup corn oil for frying chiles
Ingredients for Sauce:
1 chopped tomato
1/2 chopped medium onion
1 minced garlic
2 sprigs of cilantro
1 tablespoon of corn oil
1.5 cups water
- Roast the chiles poblanos on a skillet, comal, broiler, grill, or on an open fire until they are blackened completely.
- Using a plastic bag (or container with a lid) place the roasted chiles poblanos inside the bag and allow to steam for about 1 minute (not longer than that to avoid over cooking). This will help to remove the skins more easily. Then remove all skins.
- Very carefully, make a small vertical slit (about 2/3 of the chile) on the chile. Then remove the seeds, using a small spoon.
- Fill the inside of each chile with cheese. A quick trick is to help seal the chile using a toothpick. This will help keep the chile closed but with practice you won’t even need this.
- Place the egg whites in a bowl and using a stand mixer or hand mixer whip your egg whites to medium peaks. Then add the egg yolks and whip until you get stiff peaks. Be careful to not over-whip or your eggs will turn into liquid.
- Dip the chile into the egg batter and coat on all sides, very gently.
- Place the the chile into the frying oil (at about 325 degrees) for about 45 seconds on each side or until the egg is golden brown.
- Repeat process with the rest of the chiles.
To make the tomato sauce:
- Place a tablespoon of corn oil into a small sauce pan.
- Sauté the onion until golden then add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
- Now add the tomato and sauté for about 5 minutes under low heat.
- Add the water and the sprigs of cilantro and allow the sauce to reduce until your preferred consistency (I like my sauce chunky).
That’s it!
My mom always used the left over oil from the chiles to make refried beans and it gave them such a special flavor. You might want to try that. Moreover, if you have leftover egg batter, drop some of the poblano seeds into the batter, then drop a spoonful of this into the oil to make some yummy seed puffs.
*Lastly, I love using Oaxaca cheese but you can use panela, manchego, chihuahua, queso fresco, even fresh mozzarella (an easy substitute for Oaxaca), or any Mexican cheese that you prefer.
Provecho!
Feel free to post your comments or questions.
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