It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

Today is Mr. Rogers birth date. This fact is totally irrelevant to my post, but I was a loyal fan of his for many years. I threw caution to the wind and did some deep frying today, I must admit the result was fantastic. I decided that homemade chile rellenos were in order. Chile rellenos literally "stuffed chiles" originated in Puebla, Mexico. They consist of roasted fresh poblano peppers (a mild chile pepper named after the city of Puebla) that are stuffed with cheese. I selected to add homemade refried beans to my stuffing in order to supply them with additional substance. I used egg whites as the batter for the chiles, and this formed a light airy coating. An elementary sauce serves as a base for these fried delights. This is an excellent vegetarian option.

 

Chile Rellenos

Sauce:

5 red plum tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

1 medium onion, halved

1 jalapeno

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Filling:

1 1/2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 medium onion diced

1/2 can green chiles

1 cup refried beans (recipe below)

6 poblano chiles, charred, seeded, and deveined *

3 egg whites, at room temperature

1 egg yolk, at room temperature

All-purpose flour, for dredging

Vegetable oil, for frying

Sauce: Put the tomatoes, onion, jalapeno and garlic on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Roast at 350 degrees until tender. Place roasted veggies in the food processor until smooth. Heat in a saucepan.

Chile rellenos: Saute onions and green chiles over medium heat until soft. Mix the cheese and oregano in a small bowl, add sauteed veggies and beans. Cut a slit through 1 side of the charred chiles and fill each chile with 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture. Close with toothpicks to hold the filling in place. Place the stuffed chiles on a tray and put in the freezer (this makes the frying process easier), until firm.

 In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. Add the egg yolk and continue to beat for about 1 minute. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour in enough oil to fill the pan about a third of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 375 degrees. Dredge the filled chiles in flour until fully covered. Shake off any excess flour, then dip the chiles into the egg mixture, until well coated. Fry until golden brown and drain on paper towels.

Arrange the chiles on a serving platter, spoon the sauce on top and serve.

*To char the chiles (or any fresh chile): Put the chiles over a gas flame or underneath the broiler and cook until they are blackened on all sides. Enclose them in a plastic bag and let stand for 10 minutes to steam, which will make them easy to peel.

For the refried beans. Dice one onion and 3 cloves of garlic. Saute in a saucepan with 2 T olive oil. Once the onions are soft add one can of pinto beans, 1 bay leaf, 2 T tomato paste, 3/4 C chicken stock, 1 t cumin and 1 t chili powder. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on medium low until soft, about an hour (remove bay leaf) then gently mash.

Until tomorrow...Peace.