Chiles rellenos
Poblano peppers charred and peeled, stuffed with queso fresco, coated in whipped egg batter and fried, then served in a tomato broth.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 70 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Hard
Method
- Blacken the poblanos over a gas flame or under the grill, turning until the skin blisters on every side. Seal them in a bag for 15 minutes.
- Rub the blackened skin away with your fingers. Slit each pepper down one side and pull out the seeds, keeping the stem and the shape of the pepper.
- Cut the cheese into batons and slide some into each pepper. Close the slit and hold it shut with a cocktail stick.
- Blend the tomatoes with the onion and garlic, then pour the purée into a hot oiled pan. Reduce for 10 minutes, add the stock and oregano, season and keep warm.
- Whisk the egg whites to firm peaks, then fold in the yolks one at a time with a spatula. The batter should stay airy.
- Roll the peppers in corn flour, shake off the excess, dip them in the egg batter and slide them into 2 cm of oil at 180C.
- Brown for 2 minutes each side, spooning hot oil over the top. Drain on kitchen paper.
- Pull out the cocktail sticks and serve the peppers in a shallow bowl with the tomato broth poured around them.
The corn flour bridges the damp pepper skin and the egg batter: without it the coating slides off in the oil. Pat the peeled poblanos dry with kitchen paper before you flour them.
