Chile Relleno

My dad made me my first Chile relleno when I was a kid. He had learned about this dish when he was a college student at New Mexico. I have had this dish in various restaurants and have had various issues with them including - too many seeds left in / too spicy , too soggy , the sauce being sour , the batter tasting too eggy etc . I looked for recipes and used two different recipes ( recipe 1 , recipe 2 ) and improvisation to make this dish at home and it turned out to be one of the best chile rellenos I have ever tasted 

Ingredients: 

Poblano peppers - 2 

Filling : 

Shredded Cheddar cheese - 1/4 cup 

Shredded Mexican cheese blend - 1/2 cup

Cream cheese ( softened ) - 1/2 cup 

String cheese mozzarella - 1 split into two vertically 

Mix all the cheeses except for the string cheese and set aside 

Egg- 1 

Baking powder - 1/4 tsp 

Separate whites and yellow in different bowls 

Beat the white into stiff peaks ( used electric hand mixer)

Beat the yellow with the baking powder 

Fold the yellow into the whites and set aside in a shallow bowl ( easy for dipping) 

All purpose flour- 1/4 cup 

Panko bread crumbs- 1/2 cup  ( mix in 1 tsp of cumin powder and 1 tsp taco seasoning to give it some flavour ) 

Place these in shallow bowls or plates 

Assemble a dipping station - with flour first , then egg, then bread crumbs 

Oil - 2 cups for shallow frying 

Instructions: 

1. Preheat the oven’s broiler ( high setting). Take the poblano peppers and place them on a foil lined baking sheet and broil them for 8-10 min until the skin is blistered and blackened 
   
   
   
   
2. Take the peppers out and place in a bowl and cover with a lid. This traps the steam /moisture in there and softens the skin more for about 10 min 
3.  Now peel off the skin and slit the peppers vertically and remove the seeds. 
   
   
   
   
4. Fill the inside with cheese mixture and place some string cheese in the middle to get a nice gooey center . Close the peppers up with toothpicks. Make sure to count the number of toothpicks you placed so you can ensure all of them come out later!!! 
5. 
   
   
   
6. Now dip the stuffed pepper in the flour first and dust off excess flour.
7. Then dip in the egg mixture
8. Finally dip into the seasoned breadcrumbs
9. Heat up oil in a pan to shallow fry the peppers ( start this prior to assembling the peppers so it’s ready to go )
10. Once hot ( 350F) turn down the heat to medium and let cool a little , gently place the peppers in the oil taking care not to splash hot oil on your hands . Fry each side until golden brown. 
    
    
    
11. Take the pepper out with a slotted spoon and let the oil drip out and then place on a paper towel lined plate to blot excess oil . Once slightly cool pull out the tooth picks.
12. Chile relleno is now ready to serve with a red sauce.

Sauce 

Can of tomatoes ( Rotel or similar with stewed tomatoes )- 1 ( can use fresh tomatoes or paste as well) 

Onion - 1/2 chopped 

Garlic - 2 cloves minced

Vegetable broth - 2 cups 

Dried oregano - 1 tbsp

Cumin powder - 1/2 tbsp

Pepper - 1/2 tsp 

Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste 

Cayenne pepper - small pinch ( optional) 

Taco seasoning - 1 tbsp 

Brown sugar - 2 to 3 tbsp ( enough to make the sauce not sour ! ) 

Oil - 1 to 2 tbsp 

1. Grind the tomatoes in a blender to a purée ( if using paste dilute with water to make a purée )
2. In a sauce on medium heat add oil and sauté the onions until translucent and then sauté the garlic 
   
   
3. Now add all the spices ( except brown sugar ) and sauté for 30 seconds 
4. Then add in the tomato purée and stir well. Add the broth and mix it to desired thickness ( can add more broth or water )
5. Taste it and add salt to taste 
6. Taste it and add brown sugar one spoon at a time mixing it in and tasting to get to desired taste ( I like my sauce slightly sweet and not sour ) 
   

Now chile relleno is ready to serve 

On a plate place some sauce 

Then place the Chile relleno on top of the sauce ( instead of pouring the sauce on top I do this to prevent it from become too soggy ) 

Garnish with some sour cream