Chiles Rellenos recipe

[worm@work]

Hi,

Am inviting folks over for a Mexican dinner and am craving some chile relleno. Does anyone have a recipe they wouldn't mind sharing?

Thanks in advance,

Seema

[baconburner]

Hi,

Am inviting folks over for a Mexican dinner and am craving some chile relleno. Does anyone have a recipe they wouldn't mind sharing?

Thanks in advance,

Seema

←

Seema

Have you tried Google?

Over 200 recipes pop up,

Cheers

Baconburner

[shelora]

What time is dinner?

[worm@work]

Yep, I did try google and thats why I ended up here :). Too many recipes to sift through and was hoping someone here would be able to give me a "tried and tested" authentic one, thats all ;).

I think I found one I like.. and Shelora, am also planning on tamales one on Sunday. Feel free to invite yourself although I suspect you'd be better off on a day I'm cooking Indian food :).

-w@w

[sladeums]

this one from Bayless is servicable:

click for 'Chiles Rellenos' recipe

i like to make some meat, some cheese.

[CookingFire]

Would you post or link to the one you're finally thinking of using, Seema?

Good topic -- especially now that we're getting close to August when the season for walnuts, fruits and pomegranates conspire for Chiles en Nogada. I've been looking around for good places -- has anyone got good suggestions of where to go for the dish in Mexico, or variations on the recipe that might be interesting to try?

[worm@work]

Thank you sladeums :).

[worm@work]

Would you post or link to the one you're finally thinking of using, Seema?

Good topic -- especially now that we're getting close to August when the season for walnuts, fruits and pomegranates conspire for Chiles en Nogada.  I've been looking around for good places  -- has anyone got good suggestions of where to go for the dish in Mexico, or variations on the recipe that might be interesting to try?

←

Sure, am going through a few (including the Bayless one). Will pick one and post pictures if they turn out ok :).

-w@w

[shelora]

My favourite chile rellenos are those made from the smoke chile pasilla of Oaxaca.

Filled with cheese, like montery jack or muenster, battered and fried.

Anchos work well too, teamed up with a cinnamon scented tomato caldo.

With no batter, I prefer the fresh poblano, roasted, peeled and then stuffed with a cooked spinach mixture of sauteed onions, raisins and pinenuts. Put a dollop of goat cheese in the middle, more stuffing around that. Then heat in the oven. This is a contemporary recipe taught to me by chef Roberto Santibanez. And those vegetarians love it.

Should I bring something to drink?

[theabroma]

Would you post or link to the one you're finally thinking of using, Seema?

Good topic -- especially now that we're getting close to August when the season for walnuts, fruits and pomegranates conspire for Chiles en Nogada.  I've been looking around for good places  -- has anyone got good suggestions of where to go for the dish in Mexico, or variations on the recipe that might be interesting to try?

←

Since chiles en nogada are really a tradition from Puebla, go there to try them. I suspect, however, that Las Girasoles in DF has good ones, the traditional place (among Poblanos and not typically tourists) is the Fonda Sta Clara in Puebla, Pue. Other possibilities in Puebla are the Hotel Royalty (go back for the rabbit with garlic and rosemary) and the Meson de la Sacristia. But be forewarned: the nogada at Fonda Sta Clara is a monstrous thing, fully 10-12 inches long. There is a vivacious debate among locals as to whether the chiles en nogada should be capeados (dipped in egg batter and fried) or not. They b&f them at the Fonda, and that makes them even richer and more impossible to eat the whole thing.

Although a chile can be - and is - filled with whatever, the classics are either quesillo de Oaxaca, queso asadero, or queso Chihuahua/Menonita, or picadillo. The picadillo is usually made with coarsely ground pork or pork and veal, sauteed onions, garlic, (then sear the ground meats), chopped green olives, capers, slivered almonds, raisins, diced peaches, diced pears, and diced biznaga (candied cactus, very similar to properly made candied citron). Added to the mix are salt, pepper, cinnamon, sometimes a touch of clove or allspice, and a bit of thyme and Mx oregano, and chopped Italian parsley. A bit of water to simmer the flavors together, et voila!

That is used to stuff the roasted, peeled poblanos. The capa is made from eggs, separated. The yolks are beaten until well mixed, with a bit of salt and pepper added. The whites are whipped to a just more than soft peak, and the yolks are gently folded in. Roll the filled and sutured chile in flour or masa harina, gently spank off the excess, and dip into the capa. Fry in a skilled with about 1.5 to 2 inches of hot oil. Drain on paper towels in a pan in a low oven.

The nogada salsa is typically made from Mexican crema - for which you can substitute good quality creme fraiche or, in a pinch, mascarpone. Immediately flush any recipe which suggests that you substitute cream cheese for it. The walnuts you get at this season in Mexico are not our English walnuts, further they have just ripened and the nutmeats are still rather buttery and soft ... and .... this is important ..... the skin on the nutmeat peels off relatively easily. Not so with the walnuts here. I usually soak them overnight in milk, peel what I can, and then puree them with the cream, queso fresco, and sherry, and then put the whole thing through a chinois. They are traditionally garnished with the leaves of Italian parsley and pomegranate seeds.

Although it is a very patriotic dish green, red, and white, the colors of the flag. it is not a particularly Mexican one: only the chile and the biznaga are natively Mexican, and the biznaga bit had to wait for the arrival of cane sugar and the Spanish (Arabic, really) techniques of candying fruits. It is really rather French in its richness and elegance. However that may be, it is one of the prides of the Poblano kitchen, and that says a lot when you remember the moles and sweets, and tingas, etc.

I side with those who feel that battering and frying the chiles is too much when put together with that rich sauce. And truly they are eaten warm or at room temperature.

If you are looking for guidance, consult Diana Kennedy or Rick Bayless. Quintana has a couple of recipes for it - one in her Puebla, La Cocina de los Angeles. If you would like a translation, I'll be happy to oblige.

Regards,

Theabroma

[CookingFire]

Shelora -- Those sound great -- the anchos and pasilla are dried chiles, right? Do you reconstitute them in water for a while, rip out all their hot innards? or how?

There's a restaurant in Tepoztlan, called El Ciruelo that has a gorgeous view, and mediocre entrees, but their appetizers are great -- they have this one that is a stuffed chipotle -- dried, but softened, filled with crab meat. It's really sweet, and nice, not at all hot. Sounds a little like what you're talking about with the dried chiles.

Will.

[CookingFire]

Theabroma -- thanks. If you do have the Quintana recipe -- I'd love to try it.

On the native ingredients -- I never have a good understanding of exactly what grew here before the arrival of the Spanish. Were walnuts an import? Also when you say that they are unlike English walnuts -- are they at all like black walnuts? We used to have those in Arkansas, and they are wonderful, weird nuts.

You're right too that Chiles en Nogada is almost French. I've only ever had them a couple times, and both recreated in Boston, so I'm excited to finally try them here. But I was really struck at how subtle and complex and elegant it was.

I'm also interested -- I read about this pueblo near Puebla called San Nicolas de los Ranchos, whose cooks insist that they have the orriginal recipe, and that it is actually made without meat, just fruit. I'm sort of curious to try this version as well.

I'm also planning to go to Amecameca, in the state of Mexico, where they have a Walnut festiva in August, with walnut liquor, and all sorts of walnut dishes, including, of corse, en nogada. Tell the truth, walnuts are not my favorite -- but I'm hoping to be swayed.

[shelora]

.. the anchos and pasilla are dried chiles, right? Do you reconstitute them in water for a while, rip out all their hot innards? or how?

Right on all counts.

After you reconstitute them in hot water, - or a warm bath of tequila and orange juice - until pliable, not mushy, carefully slit them on the side and remove the seeds and inner veins. Some people do this the other way around - removing the seeds and inner veins before soaking. I think it depends how dry the chiles are. If they are brittle dry, soaking first is best. With those chile pasilla de Oaxaca, they can be blisteringly hot. If this is the case - your hands will be burning, clue#1 - I was taught to rinse the chilies a few times in cold water.

Pat dry the chilie before stuffing.

they have this one that is a stuffed chipotle -- dried, but softened, filled with crab meat. It's really sweet, and nice, not at all hot. Sounds a little like what you're talking about with the dried chiles.

I had a similar experience in D.F. last December. I was treated to an appetizer of chilitos. Three stuffed reconstituted chile chipotles, stuffed with chicken and walnuts with ahint of piloncillo. They were served with a sweetened crema - thin in consistency. The chilies had also been thinly batter fried adding to the dish's richness. It was excellent and rich, but not greasy. I'd never had anything like it before - I love that about Mexico. It reminded me about the dish chiles en nogada. Kind of like a forerunner to the big daddy.

As to your walnut question, I have been told that walnuts are indigenous to Mexico. I'm sure other posters here will have something to add to that enquiry.

Edited July 15, 2005 by shelora (log)

[Darienne]

Just made my very first Chiles Rellenos yesterday using the cheese-filled variant given by Rick Bayless in his online recipe. What fun! Took photos all along the way just for my own enjoyment and then forgot to photograph the finished product.

For the first time every, a grocery in Peterpatch is carrying Poblanos. Not very big ones, but the real stuff anyway. Hooray!

A question: I have never read of anyone using Bayless' method for roasting the chiles, but because I was going to fry the rellenos, I decided to try it. Plus I have only electric stove and oven and it's just not the same. The frying method worked well.

Made a huge batch of Picadillo yesterday also, so if I can find the Poblanos again, I'll do them in the oven this time. Or use a dried chile...we can buy dried chiles in our local city.

In the meantime...I am still floating...

[kalypso]

Congratulations on your success with the chiles rellenos

The frying method for skinning chiles works really well. I've done it at work using our commerical deep fryers when we've had to skin a lot of them. Aside from being a little bit messy it's pretty effective.

[Darienne]

Thanks for your kind words. Yes, I did find 'roasting' the peppers in oil worked better than the under-the-electric-oven's-broiler method.

[Jaymes]

Thanks for your kind words. Yes, I did find 'roasting' the peppers in oil worked better than the under-the-electric-oven's-broiler method.

One of the main reasons I bought a gas barbecue grill for the backyard was to prepare dishes that are difficult on an electric range & oven. I can also simmer beans a la olla in a clay pot for hours out there.

You might consider it as an option for preparations that are best over an open flame.

[Darienne]

We have a propane barbecue but don't use it all that much. We did at first...but then... It's really a summer thing for us. And not often.

It has a side burner but I've not had much practice in using it. Right now I wouldn't cook outside for anything. I'll try it again.

Edited January 23, 2011 by Darienne (log)

[Pierogi]

Darienne, your leftover picadillo is also really, really good as taco filling. I prefer it in the hard, fried shells rather than as soft tacos, but all the normal "toppings" (shredded lettuce, diced tomato, diced onion, cilantro and cheese) work beautifully with it. I love a good picadillo taco. I need to make some soon.

Picadillo is also a good filling for regular old, run-of-the-mill bell peppers. Make sure to top with some shredded cheese, and then cook as you would any other stuffed pepper.

Congrats ! You're blazing a good Southwest trail there in the frozen North......

[kalypso]

Thanks for your kind words. Yes, I did find 'roasting' the peppers in oil worked better than the under-the-electric-oven's-broiler method.

The under the broiler method always used to frustrate me too. Yeah, I could get a decent char on the chiles and get them peeled, but they also ended up getting cooked too much and were too soft. That's when I started using the oil method at home. Then we remodeled and went to a gas range top instead of electric and I've been in chile roasting heaven ever since

[Darienne]

The under the broiler method always used to frustrate me too. Yeah, I could get a decent char on the chiles and get them peeled, but they also ended up getting cooked too much and were too soft. That's when I started using the oil method at home. Then we remodeled and went to a gas range top instead of electric and I've been in chile roasting heaven ever since

Oh for a gas stove. We live far outside the gas lines here. Strange, you are the only person I have heard from who uses the oil method. I guess everyone else is cooking with gas.

[rancho_gordo]

I have always had gas and for one or two chiles, I might do direct flame on the stove top. For four or five, I roast them on comal, on the advice of Esperanza (Mexico Cooks). If I have a bunch, nothing beats the grill, propane or charcoal. The skins just slide off without a care!

Most recipes will tell you to use a plastic bag but if the idea of hot soft plastic isn't appealing, you can always put them in a mixing bowl with a dinner plate for a lid. Or even a paper bag.

[Jaymes]

Most recipes will tell you to use a plastic bag but if the idea of hot soft plastic isn't appealing, you can always put them in a mixing bowl with a dinner plate for a lid. Or even a paper bag.

Or just wrap them in a handy dishtowel.

[rancho_gordo]

I dont think that would steam them as well.

[andiesenji]

There have been times when every burner on my stovetop was in use, as well as the broilers so I cheated and used my blowtorch to char the skin on peppers.

I just laid them out on an old cast iron griddle set on butcher block counter and used tongs to turn them as I torched them.

Quick and easy -

I have a batch of the foil-lined white paper bags left over from my catering days and I use them to "steam" the peppers but I also use other paper bags, as long as they are not made from recycled material. The paper lunch bags are readily available everywhere and are cheap so I always have some of those on hand also.

Edited January 25, 2011 by andiesenji (log)