Chiles Rellenos
Roasted poblanos stuffed with molten cheese, puffed in cloudlike egg batter and fried golden. Worth every step.
Peek at the ingredients
Ingredients 8 ingredients
- 6 large poblano peppers
- 12 oz Oaxaca or Monterey Jack cheese, cut into thick strips
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1/3 cup flour, plus more for dusting
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Vegetable oil, for frying (about 2 cups)
- For the tomato sauce: 1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes, 1/2 white onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
- Salt and black pepper
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Method
- 1
Char the poblanos directly over a gas flame or under the broiler, turning, until blackened all over, about 8 minutes. Seal in a bowl covered with plastic wrap for 15 minutes, then peel off the skins. Do not rinse or you wash away flavor.
- 2
Make a small slit down one side of each pepper and carefully pull out the seeds, keeping the pepper intact. Stuff each with cheese strips. If a pepper tears a little, a toothpick through the slit holds it closed.
- 3
For the sauce, blend the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and oregano until smooth. Simmer in a saucepan for 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Season with salt.
- 4
Heat the oil in a deep skillet to 350F. Dust each stuffed pepper lightly with flour, shaking off excess.
- 5
Beat the egg whites with the salt to stiff glossy peaks. Lightly beat the yolks and fold them in gently. Fold in the 1/3 cup flour just until combined. Work quickly; the batter deflates as it sits.
- 6
Coat each pepper generously in the puffy batter and lower into the hot oil. Fry 2 to 3 minutes per side until deeply golden. Drain on a rack, not paper towels, so the bottoms stay crisp.
- 7
Serve over a pool of the warm tomato sauce.
