A chile relleno simply means stuffed pepper. The traditional chile relleno most is a poblano pepper stuffed with cheese and coated with an egg batter then fried. Although extremely delicious (and vegetarian) I wanted to share a different kind of chile relleno.
I was inspired by Southern Mexican cuisine and their use of plantains. So I took a dry chile ancho (which is the dry and smoked version of a poblano) and stuffed it with black beans, rice, and plantains. Finally I topped the chile with a creamy cilantro sauce.
You should expect a smokey, spicy, and sweet combination. Completely vegetarian, but could be vegan if vegan mayo is used. I hope you enjoy!
Yields: approximately 6 chiles
Ingredients for rice:
1 cup rice
2 whole garlic
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup roughly chopped onion
Pinch of saffron
Ingredients for beans:
2 cups cooked black beans
1/3 cup chopped onions
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon chopped jalapeño
3 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup water
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (depending on pre-cooked beans
Ingredients for Plantains:
1 cup coconut oil
2 very ripe plantains
Ingredients for cilantro sauce:
2 cups cilantro
1 1/2 jalapeños
1 tablespoon onion
3 garlic
2 tablespoons mayo (substitute w/vegan mayo for vegan)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Ingredients for chiles:
6 chiles ancho
3 cups water
1/4 cup shaved piloncillo
Begin with your rice first:
- Wash rice and place in pot with water, onion, garlic, saffron, and salt.
- Bring to a boil and lower heat. – Cook with lid on for about 15 minutes, until water has dissolved completely.
- Turn off heat and let it sit until ready to serve. Don’t open lid, so rice can become fluffy.
While your rice is cooking start your beans:
- Heat oil in a deep pan and add onions. Sweat the onions under low heat for about two minutes.
- Add garlic and sauté for about 1 minute. Then add jalapeño, green bell pepper and red bell pepper and sauté for about 3 minutes.
- Now add black beans and incorporate with al the ingredients for about 2 minutes. Then add water, bay leaves, cumin, black pepper, oregano, and salt if needed.
- Cook beans for about 20 minutes under low heat.
By now the rice should be ready and resting. Fry the plantains while the beans are cooking:
- Heat the coconut oil at about 300 degrees, not too high or the plantains will burn very quickly.
- Cut your plantain by half (lengthwise) and then cut into 8ths.
- Place the plantain pieces in the coconut oil and fry for about 3 minutes on each side. They will look very golden brown when ready.
- Set aside on a paper towel to remove excess oil. Then chop into small cubes.
While the beans are finishing make the creamy cilantro sauce:
- Place all ingredients (cilantro, onion, garlic, jalapeño, mayo, vinegar, water, salt, and black pepper) in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
The last step is the chiles:
- Bring water to a boil and add piloncillo.
- Lower heat and add chiles. Soak chiles for about 7 minutes. They should be soft but still hold together.
- Make a slit lengthwise and carefully remove seeds and veins.
Everything will be ready by now, so you are ready to plate!
- Stuff the chile with beans, rice, and plantains.
- Finish off with the cilantro sauce
So delicious and filling! Provecho!
Feel free to post your comments or questions.
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