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| My Chile Relleno Oozing Meaty Stuffing! |
I have a confession to make: I have always found Valentine's Day unbearable! Love the romantic idea of it, just couldn't bother my you know what with all that comes with it: hair, make up, dress, perfect gift, romantic get away, flowers, chocolates, reservations, it's just all too much pressure for me so I can only imagine how hard it must be for the lads! Last year, still recovering from an expensive Christmas and a terrible January, we decided to take it easy, be sensible and spend it at home. We gave each other a small gift and we prepare a gorgeous meal for two and eat it wearing pajamas and watching our favourite show on telly: pure bliss! It went so well, that we did the same this year and here's my labour of Love for the day: Chiles Rellenos.
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Poblanos are close to impossible to get fresh in Dublin and if you do find them, they are expensive. I always keep my ear to the ground in case they turn up at some vegetable shop or market stall, but it is quite rare. We do stock them tinned in the shop, and although they are whole and delicious, I find the tinned variety way too brittle and delicate, which is terrible if you want to stuff them with the chunky picadillo I made for this recipe. Craving the dish, I figured out a way to make them without the poblano peppers, and although you are missing the flavour of the real poblano pepper, the stuffing and all the cooking techniques are authentic, so if you happen to find them fresh, try the recipe again and compare!
Note: Chiles Rellenos are a lot of work. I only make them occasionally but they are worth the effort and if you are clever (as I am not), you would try and spread the work load over a couple of days; you could make the stuffing a day in advance so that the work is not all on the one single day. I didn't and we ended up having dinner quite late at night! Hope you enjoy this recipe!
Chiles Rellenos - Irish-Mex Style
(makes 4 stuffed peppers)
Ingredients:
4 green Bell peppers, washed (choose big ones with a bit of a square shape if possible)
2 tbs of olive oil
350 grams mince meat
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 red chili, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 big potatoes, chopped in squares (about 250 grams)
2 carrots, chopped in squares (about 100 grams)
1 tbs of French mustard
1 tbs of Worcestershire Sauce
Salt & pepper to taste
1 slice of stale bread, about 60 grams
100 mls of milk
40 grams of golden raisins
25 grams of Pecan nuts, roughly chopped
1 apple, finely chopped (about 80 grams)
1 banana, sliced and then chopped in quarters
3 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup of everyday flour
Salt & pepper
Vegetable oil for frying
Onto the Cooking:
Charring & Peeling the Peppers:
1.- Start by getting the peppers ready. Heat a skillet or a heavy pan to a medium to high heat and place the bell peppers freshly washed flat on it. Do not use any oil. Every 5 or so minutes, turn them gently by the stem to char the next side. Repeat this until they are complete charred. This might take about 20 to 30 minutes, so be prepare to start your stuffing while the peppers roast. I put a quick Vine video of how mine went for you to watch.
Roasting peppers for my chiles rellenos valentine's dinner tonight! #food #homemadelove vine.co/v/brAPva0FO5O— Lily Ramirez-Foran (@MexicancookEire) February 14, 2013
The purpose of this step is to help you gently char the peppers and slightly cook them so that they can be peeled from the outer transparent skin, which is hard to digest and gives some people tummy aches. Charring the outer skin of the peppers is very important for this dish to work, so no matter how tempted you are, don't skip this step.
2.- When the peppers are well charred, turn the heat off and put them into a plastic bag and wrap them well. Let them 'sweat' inside the bag for 15 minutes or so before you touch them again. This will make the peeling of the peppers easier and cleaner.
3.- After the 15 minutes are gone, peel the peppers gently using clean hands. The charred skin will come off easily and you will be left with a beautifully roasted, but still firm enough pepper.
4.- Using a sharp knife, carefully cut a vertical opening along the pepper, long enough to be able to introduce a spoon to the pepper if necessary. Make sure you don't cut all the way down to the stem or to the tip of the pepper as this will make it more liable to break all together and spill the contents.
5.- Using your fingers, try and take out as many seeds as possible from inside the pepper, don't worry if you can't get them all, a few won't kill you. Rinse the inside of the pepper if you want to clean any excess loose seeds. Set the peppers aside.
3.- After the 15 minutes are gone, peel the peppers gently using clean hands. The charred skin will come off easily and you will be left with a beautifully roasted, but still firm enough pepper.
4.- Using a sharp knife, carefully cut a vertical opening along the pepper, long enough to be able to introduce a spoon to the pepper if necessary. Make sure you don't cut all the way down to the stem or to the tip of the pepper as this will make it more liable to break all together and spill the contents.
5.- Using your fingers, try and take out as many seeds as possible from inside the pepper, don't worry if you can't get them all, a few won't kill you. Rinse the inside of the pepper if you want to clean any excess loose seeds. Set the peppers aside.
Making the Stuffing:
1.- Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, add the mince meat and break it well with a wooden spoon. Cook it at medium heat until it turns slightly brown and it starts releases its juices, about 2 minutes.
2.- Add the garlic, onion, potatoes, carrots, mustard and Worcester sauce and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
3.- While the meat cooks, break the stale bread into a bowl and pour the milk over it. Let it rest for a few minutes until it goes soft and gooey.
4.- After five minutes, add the raisins, pecan nuts, apple and banana to the meat mixture and combine. Cook covered for further 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
4.- Add the gooey milky bread to the meat mixture and stir until well combined. Cook for further 8 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are fully cooked. Set the stuffing aside.
5.- Using your hands, carefully grab one of the peppers and start stuffing it gently using a spoon. Add a little bit of the stuffing at a time to avoid breaking the pepper. Stuff them as much as you can without over stretching them. Quick photo presentation shows you how I did it. Once all peppers have been stuffed, set them aside.
6.- Whisk the egg white until they form stiff peaks. Carefully fold in the yolks and set aside.
7.- Pour the oil for frying into a shallow non-stick pan and turn the heat to medium high.
8.- While the oil heats, take a plate and put the flour, salt and pepper and mix well.
9.- Carefully grab one of the stuff peppers by the stem and roll it in the peppery flour, making sure it's well covered.
10.- Dip it then into the stiffed eggs making sure it gets plenty of egg. Transfer it immediately to the hot oil and fry it gently on all sides. When it is ready, take it out of the oil and let it rest in a plate with a kitchen paper towel so it absorbs all the excess oil.
Serve it hot with a portion of Mexican Red Rice for a full meal. Chiles Rellenos is a delicious dish, I grant you it is labour intense, but I also promise you, if you have the time, you'll enjoy the results! Happy belated Valentine's Day!
2.- Add the garlic, onion, potatoes, carrots, mustard and Worcester sauce and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
3.- While the meat cooks, break the stale bread into a bowl and pour the milk over it. Let it rest for a few minutes until it goes soft and gooey.
4.- After five minutes, add the raisins, pecan nuts, apple and banana to the meat mixture and combine. Cook covered for further 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
4.- Add the gooey milky bread to the meat mixture and stir until well combined. Cook for further 8 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are fully cooked. Set the stuffing aside.
5.- Using your hands, carefully grab one of the peppers and start stuffing it gently using a spoon. Add a little bit of the stuffing at a time to avoid breaking the pepper. Stuff them as much as you can without over stretching them. Quick photo presentation shows you how I did it. Once all peppers have been stuffed, set them aside.
8.- While the oil heats, take a plate and put the flour, salt and pepper and mix well.
9.- Carefully grab one of the stuff peppers by the stem and roll it in the peppery flour, making sure it's well covered.
10.- Dip it then into the stiffed eggs making sure it gets plenty of egg. Transfer it immediately to the hot oil and fry it gently on all sides. When it is ready, take it out of the oil and let it rest in a plate with a kitchen paper towel so it absorbs all the excess oil.
Serve it hot with a portion of Mexican Red Rice for a full meal. Chiles Rellenos is a delicious dish, I grant you it is labour intense, but I also promise you, if you have the time, you'll enjoy the results! Happy belated Valentine's Day!
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Somewhat Easier Regions versions from Hispanic Areas in the US:
ReplyDeleteCalifornia - take peppers (you can use smaller banana peppers, ancho peppers or any pepper large enough to stuff with cheese, though Jalipinos are too hot even for me.
If you have time, heat pepper under broiler or in hot oven as above, but a lot of recipes don't bother.
Slice peppers on one side and stuff with cheese (Montery Jack is best but Cheddar will do).
Make a batter (most of my books have 3 choices) but tempura batter works well. You want a classic flour/egg/water batter (or beer).
Heat enough hot oil in a deep pan (use corn oil, peanut oil or sunflower, olive oil will just make a mess) until a spoon put in has bubbles following it.
Dip the stuff peppers in the batter (thick or thin, both are popular) shake off excess batter and deep fry until golden. Drain on paper and serve hot - may be put in a hot oven while the others are cooking. Often made ahead in family run places and then either heated in a hot oven or fried again quickly. You find versions of this all over the South West, but you also get:
The Denver Version:
Take a large Egg roll Wrapper (You can get them in Asian shops in Dublin) that has thawed enough to lay down flat. Cut up stripes of pepper (Aldies and Lidles sometimes have the big green/red peppers that I think are Hungarian but they work for either version).
Lightly saute the pepper strips or put them in a hot oven sprinkled with olive oil for about 15 minutes.
Place some of the pepper strips and shredded cheese (Jack or cheddar) in the center of the egg roll and fold like a sausage or burrito with the sides folded in before rolling. Secure with a toothpick (very important) and do not over stuff (trust me).
Now repeat hot oil instructions as above, when oil is hot enough deep fry the Rellano packets until golden (you want the cheese melted but not burned). Serve right away with green chile salsa or encilada sauce.
While I have found versions of the dipped rellanos all over the US (and my Mexican cook books tend to use variations of it for the most part) - the Denver Packet version is found a lot in the Southwest again often in family places which makes me think it is a local thing.
Both versions can be stuff with Pico de Giallo or other meat fillings (the cafe around the corner from my house in Denver had a wonderful version with meat and fruit similar to the blog filling).
I like both, but have found that in rural Ireland it is a lot easier to find the very large green/red mild peppers in Hungarian and Russian food stores (sometimes Lidle and Aldi) than it is to find the Egg Roll Wrapers so I usually make the batter-filled cheese version.
Tip - both are more easily made with two people because while not as complicated at the full recipe above, they still take a lot of work and it is easier if one person dips (and does the other prep work) and someones does the deep frying. Also, these are seldom served alone, so you want someone else dishing up the refried beans, rice, etc.
Yes Melodi, different parts of Mexico stuff chilies in different ways and with 200 types of chilies locally grown in Mexico, the choice is wide. When we stuff them with cheese, we use fresh cheese rather than hard cheese... and we grill them too. This blog tries to replicate the recipes I have from my Mexican family one at a time. I don't intend to exhaust all possibilities or variations, I figure next time I feel like chiles rellenos de queso, I will just blog about them! :)
DeleteI absolutely love your blog, thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipes! I look forward to your future posts!! :) xx, C.
ReplyDeleteThank you Cindee, you're so kind! :) glad you like my ramblings here in the blog!
Deletelooks really cool. wonder would it work as well with small red pepper? definitely one for me to try.. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! yes, we stuff all sorts of chiles at home: jalapenos are a favourite. Any sweet pepper would do!
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