Chile Relleno is a mexican specialty. Poblano peppers are usually used to make this. They are milder in taste and make a tasty cover for almost any stuffing. Stuff these with rice,beans,meat,cheese or even polenta. They taste equally delicious.
There are a few steps to the recipe like roasting,stuffing and broiling (usually deep-frying). This is a lighter version of the original Chile Relleno.
Ingredients:
4 medium size poblano peppers charred until just soft (not mushy) ,peeled
For Stuffing-
1/3 cup Polenta (cornmeal)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped peppers
1/2 onion chopped
1 tea sp chopped garlic
1/4 cup grated Monterey jack cheese (substitute queso fresco -delicious!)
For coating the peppers-
1/4 cup all purpose flour mixed with 2 tb spoon water (wet batter)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs,1 tb spoon parsley,salt and pepper (dry coating)
for tomato sauce-
1 and 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 clove of garlic chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
half onion chopped
1 tb spoon oregano
1 tea spoon parsley
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Start with charring the peppers. Use the oven broiler or direct heat (if you have a gas burner). To broil, pre-heat the oven on 400 F and char the peppers for 2-3 minutes on each side.Once charred from all sides, transfer them in a plastic bag and let them cool. Peel off and discard charred skin.Slit peppers in the middle lengthwise (make sure not to cut all the way through). Remove and discard seeds.
For the stuffing, heat oil in a pan and add chopped garlic and sauté until fragrant Add chopped onion, peppers and let them soften. Add polenta, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Add boiling water to the mixture slowly, stirring continuously to get rid of any lumps. Once the polenta starts to thicken, stir occasionally. Once cooked, remove from heat and let it cool down a bit.
To make the tomato sauce, heat oil in pan. Add garlic,jalapeno pepper and saute until fragrant. Add chopped tomatoes,oregano and parsley. Add water and season with salt and pepper. Let the mixture come to boil, reduce heat to medium and keep cooking it for another 10-12 minutes.Remove from heat and set aside.
Once the stuffing is slightly cooled, stuff the charred peppers and seal the peppers with toothpick to ensure that the stuffing doesn't come out. Dip the stuffed peppers into the wet batter and dip the coated peppers into the mixture of breadcrumbs and parsley. Transfer the coated peppers onto a baking sheet. Drizzle peppers with little oil and bake it for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown at 400 F. Remove toothpicks before serving.
Warm the tomato sauce and serve baked peppers,hot out of the oven.
