Chiles Rellenos recipe?
Anyone have a good recipe for chiles rellenos? The authentic kind? Thanks!
marymac
Aug 04, 2007 06:34AM
Anyone have a good recipe for chiles rellenos? The authentic kind? Thanks!
marymac
Aug 04, 2007 06:34AM
What kind of peppers can you get? Fresh poblanos?
What kind of filling do you want?
paulj
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Poblanos, and cheese with an egg batter pan fried are what I call "authentic". But, I have to say, I love medium hot anaheims, cotija, and an egg roll rapper, deep fried for the crunch. And, lay them down in a puddle of my homemade green chile.
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I made some like that once, just for fun, only with monterey jack cheese. My sister refused to eat them and called them "snot rolls."
The rest of us ate them and enjoyed them. But we had no illusions about their authenticity.
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I prefer using poblanos and cheese, deep fried with a batter.
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This is pretty much constant: poblanos, egg batter. Garlicky, spicy tomato sauce to braise them in after they're fried.
But what goes in them? Almost anything - I've used various combinations of these ingredients. Leftovers, like chopped meat or poultry. Shrimp, roasted almonds, roasted pumpkin seeds, cilantro, epazote, cheese, chopped green onions...
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Requesón is a good stuffer. Mashed potatoes are excellent, with a little cheese--try queso adobera, or mix some requesón into the mashed potatoes.
"Authentic" isn't a descriptor I'd choose, though. "Traditional" seems somehow better to me.
We very commonly see chiles rellenos made with chiles poblano. Another good choice is chiles húngaro, the long yellow ones. Prepare the chiles exactly the same way you'd prepare poblanos: roast on the comal till dark brown and blistery, sweat in a plastic bag, peel, slice open, remove seeds, stuff, batter, fry, sauce, and serve.
Link: http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com
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You and I both know that the Pueblan version are ubiquitous... but thanks for posting about another type that is just as authentic. There are actually hundreds of varieties of authentic Chile Rellenos. One of my favorites is a Sinaloa recipe of Chile Guero (the blonde... jalapeno like chiles) stuffed with a spicy Crab Salad, battered & fried.... pure heaven.
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That sounds delicious! I'll try them when I'm in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico, the shrimp capital of the world.
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Enjoy.... also please have some Shrimp Aguachile Tostadas on my behalf.
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I'd go with New Mexico green before poblano... Poblano's not bad though.
Basically, roast and peel the chile, fill it with grated cheese, batter and deep fry. Easier said than done though... Mine always tend to fall apart in the oil, which is a huge mess.
There are also some "chile rellenos" that are more of a baked casserole... I've made it that way before, and it's still pretty tasty.
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I've been using "chile relleno casserole" as a pot-luck food for many years ... delicious (though not "traditional" in the sense that word is being used here), easy to make, and always a big hit.
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I agree with the New Mexico green chili. I like them sooooo much better than rellenos made with poblanos.
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I don't know about authenticity, but this is what I have been using. I like a little bit thicker, puffy coating.
3 eggs, separated
Beat whites till they form soft peaks.
Beat yolks with 1 tbl. water, 3 tbls. flour and a pinch of salt, till thick and creamy. Fold into whites. I dust my chiles with flour, dip in batter and fry. I learned a trick on Chowhound that says to lay a bed of batter into your oil, lay the chile on top and finish with more batter. No gummy sticky hands. I have tried that and it takes practice to make it asthetically pleasing.
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I always just try to get my wife or someone else to help me, otherwise there I am trying to wield a spatula with a blob of dough the size of a golf ball on each fingertip! After I've stuffed all the chiles and rolled them in flour, I get my helper to dip them in the batter and slide them into the pan. There's plenty of opportunity for said helper to rinse off his/her hands between panfuls.
While I appreciate the wonderful freshness of chiles processed from fresh, I have to confess a lingering fondness for the first chiles rellenos I knew and loved, made with Ortega canned chiles (HAS to be Ortega!). Those are also absolutely required for that buffet casserole mentioned above. I also use them as the base of a crustless quiche, or simply dried, split and warmed, topped with Jack or mozzarella, and rolled up in an omelet - all variations on a very tasty theme.
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We love the recipe in Diana Kennedy's "Essential Cuisine's of Mexico." Rick Bayless' reicpe in Mexico One Plate at a Time also looked promising. Let me know if you'd like me to paraphrase Dame Kennedy's.
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Ms Kennedy's "My Mexico" has several rellenos recipes that look great, including a potato anchovy one.
My favorite traditional version is from Oaxaca, and involves a dried chile stuffed with meat
btw I don't know how to make it, and Kennedy drives me nuts by having another recipe from the restaurant I tasted it in, but not this one...
siigh
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Here is a good site to see some traditional Mexican cooking.
http://www.rollybrook.com/chiles_rell...
I made these not long a go. Very good.
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Thanks for this website! I love Mexican food and this a wonderful resource for home cooked recipes.
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I know Rolly, who owns the Rollybrook website. He's a super nice guy and lives in Lerdo, Mexico.
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For something a little different I love the Chili Rellenos en Escabeche in the "Mexico the Beautiful" cookbook for which I was a recipe tester.
There is no batter, the chilis are roasted, skins and seeds removed. They are stuffed with a cold tuna & caper mixture [very similiar to tuna salad] ... placed on the larger platter [I serve this at parties] ... and marinated in a vinaigrette.
For tradtitional chili rellenos I prefer a picadillo filling.
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I wouldn't dare wade in here with a recipe...you have gotten plenty of great replys. I would like to emphasize that roasting and peeling the peppers is important to get the best flavor and texture. If you are starting from the basics, that might not be obvious, but it really makes a difference.
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Thanks so much, everyone, great ideas!
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Also, chile rellenos are great leftover as a sandwhich in a french roll. Split the roll, dab a little mayo, add some leaf lettuce and put the chile in (if your left over chiles are too big, cut in half). They get eaten like this in Guatemala all the time!
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Most poblanos are blistered and peeled before being "relleno"d, (stuffed). I have been served, and have cooked myself, rellenos prepared with raw unpeeled poblanos. Way easier to handle, cut, and stuff, although any kind of batter has a hard time adhering. But the finished product has a nice fresh vegetable "snap" because it has not been twice-cooked. I like both. Any opinions?
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If you have a blowtorch, you can use that to blister the chile without cooking it. Also, my mother always reheated her chiles rellenos in a thin tomato sauce before serving, rendering them puffy and juicy. She was taught this by a lady who owned a Mexican restaurant in Fairbanks, Alaska, of all places. Have no idea if this is authentic, but it certainly is delicious!
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The thin tomato sauce is called a Caldillo de Xitomate.... very common. In Jalisco its pretty much Tomato & Oregano... in Oaxaca its Tomato & Epazote. In Michoacan its a very spicy Tomato based salsa. In the Highlands of Jalisco... it is often replaced by Caldillo Blanco (Roux).... whereas in other parts of the country Chile Rellenos are typically sauced with Moles, Pipian, Huitlacoche, Squash Blossom, Creamy Pecan, or Hoja Santa based sauces and others.
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Ya me dio hambre! (I'm hungry now!!)
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Thanks for the info. Mom's tomatoe sauce was tomato thinned with chicken stock and seasoned with oregano.
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Is your mom from Mexico... if so, can you confirm what town, city, state etc.,?
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Nope, Mom was Irish. She formed a friendhsip with a Mexican lady who ran a restaurant in Fairbanks, Alaska, back in the early 50's. The woman gave Mom the recipe when my parents were getting ready to return to the Lower 48. Have no idea what part of Mexico the woman was from, but her recipe remains a family favorite.
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Would you share it? I would love to eat these for breakfast, lunch and supper. I would like to try a good recipe battered and fried and just baked to lighten it up. Anyone done that?
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Originally (being in Alaska), these were made with canned green chiles and stuffed with cheddar cheese. Now we make them with roasted and peeled fresh poblanos and whatever Mexican cheese we can find. For every two chiles, you need 1 egg. For every 2 eggs, you need 1 tablespoon of flour. Beat the egg white until stiff but not dry. Beat the egg yolks. Gently fold the yolks and flour into the whites. Put some of you batter into a smaller bowl and dip the cheese-stuffed chiles into the batter in this bowl one-at-a-time, spooning batter over the top to cover the chile completely. (Putting some batter into a smaller bowl prevents the batter from becoming watered down.) Fry the chiles in about 2 inches of oil, turning once, until they are golden brown. Drain thoroughly on several layers of paper towels. When cool, the chiles can be wrapped up in paper towels, put in a freezer bag and frozen. I usually make a huge batch and freeze most of them.
In the summer I make my own tomato sauce, but in the winter I use canned crushed tomatoes. Add dried oregano to taste (about a teaspoon or a little less for a 28-ounce can of tomatoes). Thin with chicken stock. You want the sauce thin enough to allow the chiles to sink into it, but not watery. Bring the sauce to a boil, add your chiles, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. You can do this in a very large pan and pop the whole thing in a 350 degree oven if you're cooking for a crowd. If the chiles are frozen, they'll take about 20 minutes to get all nice and melty inside. Enjoy!
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pikawicca, I'll be making chili rellenoes this afternoon, and... been trying to find a nice batter. I don't want it to be eggy or like an omelette. Is this the batter for me? Love the sauce, I love that brothy tomatoey sauce, that's not too heavy// hope your around today and see this....otherwise I might be posting a topic for you specifically... thanks!
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ok I finished them! The batter was beautiful. I made it with 4 whipped egg whites-moderately stiff peaks, beat 1 T flour with salt, into egg yolks, folded that into the egg whites.
The charred and peeledchilis, stuffed with white monterey jack, dipped into the souffle like batter, fried them up in a cast iron pan, and are they lovely... made a sauce with a little onion, and the a spicey mexican tomato sauce, and chicken broth. Pretty tasty. It is late, so I will bake them tomorrow, and probably make flautas or something crunchy to go with, and gaucamole and salsa....mmmm!
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Some great replies here already. The only thing that I have to add that maybe helpful is that when I make chile rellenos, I break up the process into two parts. I roast the chiles, cook the filling (we make ours with a spicy ground beef and potato filling called picadillo) and stuff the chiles, and make my tomato sauce as the first part. Then I wrap the peppers up in saran wrap tightly to help them keep their shape and refrigerate them to cool them so that they won't fall apart so easily. I will do thins anywhere from a day ahead to the morning before I am serving them. Also, if i am making a large batch, this is where I freeze them to store for future meals. (Just remember to thaw them out before you fry them.) The second part comes when you are ready to serve. Then all you need to do is reheat your sauce, heat your oil, and make your batter. Fry them up to order. The cold chiles will hold much better when handling and frying than if you try to fry a chile relleno that you just roasted, and stuffed.
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Homero, have you ever had a problem with heating the chilled filling through without overcooking the outside?
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Veggo, I have never had a problem with it, but I think the reason why is that I pan fry it in only about a 3/4 to a half inch or oil, so only a small part of the batter is actually submerged in the hot oil. I spoon some of the hot oil over the chile to set the batter on top, and the weight of the chile keeps the batter from ballooning like it might if it was deep fried. If the batter is getting over cooked, I turn the chile so that the cooked part is out of the oil. The filling is usually sufficiently heated through when the batter is cooked well. Golden with just a few hints of brown. Thats how my Tia taught me. And I keep the in a warm oven and when I sauce them, the tomato sauce is hot, so that helps to warm the insides too. At some point I will try using a thermometer to see at what temperature I fry the chiles at. I do it by look. I'd bet its probably a lower temp since the oil is not going crazy on the batter. Maybe a bit less than 375 but not too low, because that makes them greasy.
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Useful tips- gracias a usted y su tia!
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This is a great tip. I also use less oil for frying them. The cooling in the fridge is also a good idea.
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Today's experiment- Chile Rellenos!
I found some gorgeous poblanos at the Farm Stand, and immediately knew what I wanted to do with them.
Method: Place poblanos under the broiler until blistered on all sides (turning). Into paper bag they went. After about 15 minutes, easily peeled.
Sauteed up some squash, scallions, garlic and spinach (also from said stand), let cool. Mixed with Mozzerella, 'cause that's what I had. Oh, after the squash was completely sweated down, I added a Tbs of tequila and some Goya Adoba powder. Then the garlic and the spinach after the tequila cooked off.
Tricky part (or so I thought)- removing the seed core and stuffing. There was a sizeable "tear" in the side from this that made me nervous. I covered them with plastic wrap and put into the 'fridge for about 30 minutes.
Heated 2" oil in a high sided skillet.
Batter: 2 eggs- whisk the whites til stiff, beat the yolks with 1Tbs flour, then fold together, dredge the peppers, then into the oil.
The batter seals the whole deal together- I was concerned about melting/leakage from the tears in the peppers, but was not a problem at all. Drained/rested for about 1 minute and served.
Fluffy batter, and cheesey gooey goodness. Next time I would add some corn, I think.
As this was an experiment with the peppers, I didn't make a sauce today, but Saturday will be for guests, and I will make an enchilada sauce for the contrast.
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Sounds great!
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cheesemonger, bien hecho.
Tip: I make the usual lengthwise incision to the poblano, and then a short perpendicular "T" cut, about an inch long, across the stem end of the first cut. It makes it easier to cut off and remove the seed core, and to insert the filling. The 2 little 'flaps' fold back into place nicely.
Your "relleno" ingredients sound good. Adding some cut up shrimp would be killer, if you like shrimp. Good luck Saturday!
EDIT: I see you are kosher and vegan: skip the shrimp, but hop to the East Side deli- which is actually in Glendale- my old briar patch.
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Veggo- I am neither kosher or vegan, I only replied to a post looking for kosher/vegan in CO!
I considered shrimp, but I'm staying with family in NC, and I'm trying to sneak meat-free dishes past them on occasion, although the shrimp sounds good.
I think I tried the type of cut you describe (or something similar), but the peppers tend to tear along the grain, as it were. I'm just happy that the batter + hot oil seals that up very nicely. I put the cut side in the oil first, hoping that the coldness of the refrigerated cheese mixture would keep it from leaking, but that wasn't necessary as the batter makes a consistent "shell" almost immediately.
To AbdulSheikMohammad, who's rellenos fall apart- my exteriors were pretty dry, and interiors pretty cold before I battered and dropped immediately into the hot oil. I think both of those things helped, for different reasons. The cold kept the cheese from melting too quickly, and the dryness of the peppers helped the batter adhere better.
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Most chiles that I've had at taquerias still have most of the seed core present. They may have brushed out the loose seeds, but the stem and core is left. That requires less handling and tearing.
paulj
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It's interesting that Diana Kennedy doesn't use flour in her batter in the recipe I used. I always had until last week. She dusts the chiles themselves in flour which helps the batter adhere. Turned out great.
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A side step: just had ejotes forados in Guatemala: green/French beans battered and fried just like chiles rellenos. Really good and really simple.
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The other name for anything done in this cooking method is Capeados... in addition to green beans... I have also seen Huazontle & Romerito fritters (both greens indigenous to the Valley of Mexico), Cauliflour (a more recent vegetable in the Mexican repertoire), Spinach, Chard... as well as fresh water fish stuffed with langostines etc.,
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Yes, cauliflower does good with this treatment. In Guatemala they also do Pacaya (El Salvador too) this way but I never was a fan of Pacaya.
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Re: Sam Fujisaka's post:
Mmm, sounds very good. I still have fond memories of Guatamala although I haven't been there since....gasp, choke....1969!
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Hey Oakjoan, time for a return trip! although you will surprised at how big Guatemala City has become (not to mention the gentrification of Antigua)
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Cat Chow:
I wish! The interesting thing to me after reading all these wonderful posts about Guate is that one of the best meals we had was in Solala in a small place that rented rooms. We had the same thing at every meal, but it was so simple and good that I sometimes long for it - scrambled eggs, those wonderful thick tortillas and black beans.
We came over the mountains from Mexico into Guatamala on an old, rickety bus. My arthritis certainly wouldn't allow THAT these days. At every stop a group of people would get off and other get on. It seemed as though one group was bringing stuff to market in town x and the sellers in town x were taking their stuff to town y. Probably just in our imaginations.
We also couldn't stop ourselves from singing the Bob Dylan song "Oh, mama, can this really be the end....to be stuck inside a mobile with the Memphis blues again" over and over and over. I've hated that song ever since.
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Sam, who made them for you or where did you get them?! This is certainly a "home cooking" dish. Classic!! Did you have salsita with them?
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