Thursday, February 28, 2008

I took this picture today and although I love Chili Rellenos I do not make them often. Today I made several and they don't always look like that. They are usually covered a little nicer and prettier.
I had to take the picture quick because several people were standing around wanting to munch it down and I knew it was going to disappear fast.

Ingredients:

12 Pablano or Anaheim chilies, roasted* (directions see below)
2 cups Mozzarella or other stringy melting cheese, grated
4 eggs separated, Beat the egg whites until stiff and then add the yolk.
2 cups all purpose flour
salt, chili powder, and black pepper to taste
Oil of your choice. I used Canola.

Directions:

Roast the peppers, remove stems and seeds, clean, pat dry and set aside. Beat egg whites until stiff and then add the yolks. Then gently stuff the chilies as full of the cheese mixture as possible without tearing them. Set aside. Mix the flour and any seasonings you want to add together and put on a plate. In a heavy skillet, heat about 1/4 inch of oil to frying temperature. Gently dip a chili in the egg and then roll it in the flour mixture. Then gently transfer that to the hot oil. Fry on both sides until golden brown. Repeat until all the chilies are fried.

*Roasting Chiles: Oven roasting: Simply put the chilies on a baking sheet in the oven at about 400 and leave until the skins are blistered. Then remove the blistered skins under cold running water. Although this is the easiest way it is not the best way. First, it doesn't develop quite as much flavor as flame roasting does. Second, you are not just blistering the skins, the chilies are also being cooked. Now this is fine for any dish where you don't mind if the chilies are soft textured.

Flame or direct heat roasting: For this method you may use a BBQ or your stove top burner, and yes, you can do it on an electric burner as well as a gas one. For whatever heat source you use you simply lay the chilies directly over the heat and with a pair of kitchen tongues, turn them frequently to ensure that the skins blister evenly. As soon as you remove the chili from the heat wrap it in a cloth or put it in a brown paper bag and let it steam for about 3 to 4 minutes before removing the skin under cold running water.

Be sure however, not to roast more chilies at any one time than you can peel before they become completely cold. Once they are cold the skin is very hard to remove. Also, do not worry about getting every smidgen of the charred skin off. A bit of the char is what gives the characteristic roasted chili flavor. Chilies that are roasted in this manner still have a good texture.

When choosing chilies or peppers for roasting, choose ones that have the fewest convolutions to their surface. If they are too twisted and bumpy it is difficult to get the skins to blister evenly.


You can add ground beef, chicken, or even tuna to the stuffing if you so desire.

Also these Chili's are usually mild and not super hot so do not be afraid to try the recipe.







1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I love these recipes. Keep em coming!