Chile Relleno Enchiladas Recipes

CHILE RELLENO ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• Turn the oven broiler on high and place the oven rack at its highest setting. Put the peppers on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Broil on one side for 5 minutes. Flip the peppers over and broil for another 5 minutes. Flip a third time and broil for an additional 5 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and place the peppers in a sealable plastic bag for 10 minutes to continue to steam (during the 10 minutes, you can get your sauce going and shred your cheese if needed).
• After 10 minutes, carefully take the peppers out of the bag (they are still hot!) and place them on a cutting board. Remove the skins with tongs or your fingers if they are cool enough. Remove the seeds and stems and dice the peppers. Add the diced peppers and 1 cup of cheese in a bowl and combine. Set the bowl aside.
• In your food processor or blender, add the tomatoes, onion, and garlic and blend until smooth and set aside.
• In a medium saucepan over med-high heat, heat the olive oil. Add the flour and whisk together for about a minute to make a roux. Slowly pour in the broth, whisking the entire time.
• Add the chili powder, salt, and cumin and continue to whisk to combine. Now add the blended tomato mixture, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and cinnamon. Stir everything to ensure it is fully combined. Bring to a boil and then immediately lower the heat to simmer. Stir the sauce occasionally as you prepare the other ingredients. After the sauce has simmered for a while, add the salt and pepper to taste. TIP: If you want a smooth sauce, you can give it another round in the food processor or blender.
• Move the oven rack to the middle setting and preheat the oven to 400ºF. Wrap your tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 60 seconds to warm them up and make them easier to roll. Keep them wrapped in paper towels until you are ready to assemble.
• Pour about a cup of the enchilada sauce at the bottom of an oven-safe pan or dish (I used my cast iron pan, but a casserole dish would work just fine too). Take each tortilla and add some of the pepper and cheese mixture to the middle, roll up and place the seam side down in your dish. Repeat until all of your enchiladas are rolled.
• Spoon more of the enchilada sauce all over the top of the tortillas to ensure all of them have been coated completely. You will probably have some leftover enchilada sauce you can save or freeze for another meal. Don't feel like you have to use it all.
• Cover the top with the rest of the cheese and place in the oven for 15 minutes. For the last 2 minutes, I put my broiler on so the cheese was nice and melted and a little browned on top.
• Remove the pan from the oven and garnish with the green onions. Serve with sour cream and avocado. Enjoy!

CHILES RELLENOS

Steps:

• Char the chiles.
• Turn a gas burner on high. Char the chiles on the burner grate, turning with tongs (Marcela is a pro and uses her hands!), until blackened all over. Or char the chiles under the broiler.
• Let them soften.
• Transfer the charred chiles to a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag and close. Let stand 10 minutes. The chiles will steam in the bag, making them soft and easy to peel.
• Remove the skin.
• Gently rub the chiles with paper towels to remove as much skin as possible. It's okay if a few flecks remain-they'll add flavor, so don't rinse them off.
• Open the chiles.
• Using a paring knife, make a slit across the top of a chile just below the stem, leaving the stem intact. Starting from the middle of the slit, slice lengthwise down to the tip of the pepper (cut through only one layer). Open the chile like a book and pull out the seeds and inner membranes. You may need to use a paring knife to loosen the top of the seedpod. Repeat with the remaining chiles.
• Prepare the sauce.
• Puree the tomatoes, onion and garlic in a blender until smooth. Warm the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the tomato puree and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally; the sauce will be broth-y. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.
• Make the filling.
• Place the cheese in a bowl, then add the oregano, crumbling and rubbing it with your fingers to release its flavor. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.
• Stuff the chiles.
• Fill each chile with about 1/4 cup cheese mixture. Fold in the sides to cover the filling, then thread 2 toothpicks across the seam to form an X. You will probably need to make a second toothpick X to secure each chile so the filling doesn't leak out when you fry.
• Mix the batter.
• Beat the egg whites with a mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Add the egg yolk and beat 3 more minutes.
• Batter and fry.
• Heat about 1 inch vegetable oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F.
• Dredge: Pour flour into a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. One at a time, coat the stuffed chiles with the flour.
• Batter: Holding each chile by the stem, lower it into the egg batter to cover completely. Let any excess batter drip off.
• Fry: Add the chiles to the hot oil, 1 or 2 at a time; fry, flipping once with tongs, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
• Eat!
• Place a fried chile on each plate and pour the warm sauce over it. Serve immediately.

AUTHENTIC MEXICAN CHILI RELLENOS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack at about 6 inches from the heat source. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place peppers onto the prepared baking sheet, and cook under the preheated broiler until the skin of the peppers has blackened and blistered, about 10 minutes. Turn the peppers often to blacken all sides. Place the blackened peppers into a bowl, and tightly seal with plastic wrap. Allow the peppers to steam as they cool, about 15 minutes.
• Rinse cooled peppers under cold water to peel off the skins, and cut a slit along the long side of each pepper to remove the seeds and core. Rinse the peppers inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Stuff the peppers with strips of the cheese.
• Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with the baking powder. In a second metal bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until the whites form stiff peaks. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture. Place flour into a shallow bowl.
• Heat the vegetable shortening in a skillet over medium heat. Roll each stuffed pepper in flour, tap off excess flour, and dip the peppers into the egg mixture to coat both sides. Gently lay the coated peppers into the hot shortening. Fry peppers until lightly golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes per side.

BAKED CHILES RELLENOS

Steps:

• Set an oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler.
• Roast peppers on the top rack of the preheated oven until the skins are charred, about 5 minutes per side. Remove from the oven and allow to cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Set the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• While peppers are cooling, whisk eggs, flour, milk, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl until smooth. Slice the queso fresco into eight even rectangles, just shorter than the length of the peppers.
• Carefully peel off the waxy skin of the cooled peppers. Gently cut a slit down the length of the peppers and use a spoon to remove the seeds and membranes.
• Spread about 1/4 cup of the milk mixture on the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Wrap each pepper around a queso fresco rectangle. Place each chile/cheese wrap seam-side down in a single layer in the baking dish. Cover with remaining egg mixture. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese over the top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the egg mixture has risen and the cheese is golden brown, about 30 minutes.