Chiles rellenos, a vegetarian recipe from Mexico

Name: Chiles rellenos
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mexico
Ingredients: 8 poblano peppers; 250 g queso fresco or mild feta; 4 eggs; 3 tbsp corn flour; 500 g ripe tomatoes; 1 white onion; 2 garlic cloves; 250 ml vegetable stock labelled gluten free; 1 tsp Mexican oregano; Neutral oil for frying; Salt

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.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.
Reduce
Uncovered, water leaves and flavour concentrates. It is done when the sauce coats the back of a spoon.

Frequently asked questions

Why seal the charred poblanos in a bag?

The steam they give off as they cool lifts the skin away from the flesh. Fifteen minutes is enough, and the skin then rubs off with your fingers. Skip the rest and you end up scraping with a knife and tearing a chilli that has to stay whole to be stuffed.

How do I stop the cheese leaking out during frying?

Split each chilli on one side only, do not overfill it, and pin the opening shut with a cocktail stick. Queso fresco and feta run very little, which helps; a soft, freely melting cheese would escape into the oil.

How do I get the egg coating right?

Whip the whites until firm, then fold the yolks in one at a time with a spatula rather than a whisk, so the foam is not knocked down. It should stay thick enough to cling to the chilli. Use it at once, because it slackens to a liquid within minutes.

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Chiles rellenos

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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