Eggplant And Manchego Filled Chile Relleno With Red Pepper Balsamic Sauce Recipes

CHILES RELLENOS WITH PICADILLO

Steps:

• To prepare Picadillo: In a large skillet, saute the onion, garlic and bay leaves in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until the onion is softened. Add the beef, and continue to cook until the beef is no longer pink; breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in oregano, cloves, and cinnamon. Pour out any excess fat and stir in the tomato paste until thoroughly incorporated. Add chipotles, raisins, almonds, and olives; salt to taste. Remove from heat. When mixture is cool, add cheese and mix well.
• Char the flesh of the peppers over a gas flame, under a broiler or on a grill. Alternatively, set a rack over an electric burner or use a very hot heavy frying pan. Cook, turning frequently, until the skins are blistered all over. Take care not to overcook and burn right through the pepper. Put peppers in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sweat for about 10 minutes to loosen the skins. Rub off as much skin as possible and cut a slit along the side of each pepper, keeping the stems and tip intact. Carefully remove the seeds and inner membranes, but do not rinse with water.
• Heat 1-inch of oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat until very hot. Place flour in a shallow platter and season with salt and pepper. Beat egg whites until foamy, add a pinch of salt, and whip to stiff peaks. Lightly beat the egg yolks and fold into the whites. Stuff the chiles with picadillo, leaving enough room to close the opening. Overlap the seam slightly and gently squeeze closed. Secure with wooden toothpicks if desired. Pat the peppers dry and lightly coat in the seasoned flour. Pick the chile up by its stem and dip into the egg batter, making sure they are well covered, tap off excess. Fry until evenly browned, about 3 minutes each side. The egg burns easily so take care not to cook too long. Drain on paper towels. To serve, ladle a pool of Tomato Ranchero sauce on plates and set chiles rellenos on top, serve immediately.
• Combine and puree the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, cumin, and garlic in a food processor.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan or skillet and fry the tomato puree over high flame. Add broth, and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly and is heated through. If sauce tastes somewhat bitter, add a pinch of sugar. Sprinkle with a dash of hot red pepper sauce. Sauce may be served hot or cold.
• Yield: about 2 cups

EGGPLANT AND CHOCOLATE PASTRIES (LUCUMIE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• For the dough: Sift together flour, sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Cut in the chilled butter or margarine until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. In a small bowl, beat together the egg and wine just to blend, then add all at once to the flour mixture, tossing together until the dough forms a ball.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead gently a few times until smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill while you make the filling.
• For the filling: Cut the eggplant in half. Brush the cut side with the vegetable oil and place cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake until very soft, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool until easy to handle.
• Scrape out 2 cups of the eggplant flesh, and discard the seeds and skin. Place the eggplant flesh and the remaining ingredients in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process continuously until the mixture forms a very smooth paste.
• For the pastries: Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Divide the dough into quarters. Work with one piece of dough at a time, keeping the remainder covered. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each piece very thin (no thicker than 1/8 inch). With a 3-inch cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough. Place a teaspoonful of filling in the center of each, moisten the edges with a little water, and fold over. Pinch the edges together to seal and trim the edges with a fluted pastry wheel. Reroll the scraps of dough to make more circles.
• Place the pastries 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool on a rack.

EGGPLANT AND MANCHEGO FILLED CHILE RELLENO WITH RED PEPPER-BALSAMIC SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Toss the eggplant with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper and place onto a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet into the oven and roast for 10 minutes.
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven and toss with the garlic and oregano and place back into the oven for another 10 minutes, until the eggplant is lightly golden brown and soft. Remove from the oven, add the parsley and gently toss to combine. Let cool slightly.
• Place the eggplant into a bowl and toss with the cheeses. Set aside.
• Combine the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
• Bring the vinegar to a boil in a small nonreactive saucepan and cook until thickened and reduced to about 3/4 cup. Stir in the honey and set aside.
• Whisk all ingredients together in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Divide the eggplant filling among the peppers, compressing it into the shape of the pepper (the roasted pepper is very delicate and may begin to tear, but it will be fine).
• Place the flour onto a plate and season with salt and pepper. Dredge the pepper completely in the flour and tap off any excess. Dip the peppers into the beer batter and allow excess to drain off. Place the cornmeal on a plate and season with salt and pepper and dredge the pepper in the cornmeal.
• In a large frying pan, heat the oil to 370 degrees F.
• Fry the peppers in batches, turning until lightly brown, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Spoon some of the sauce in the middle of the plate. Place a relleno on top of the sauce and drizzle the relleno with some of the balsamic reduction. Garnish with parsley.

WHITE CORN CRUSTED CHILE RELLENO FILLED WITH ROASTED BEETS AND GOAT CHEESE WITH GRILLED VEGETABLE SALAD

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, combine the above ingredients and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste, set aside.
• Mix together the beets, cheeses and cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stuff each pepper with approximately 3 tablespoons of the mixture. Batter lightly and dredge in the cornmeal. In a large frying pan, heat the oil to 370 degrees F. Fry the peppers in batches, turning until lightly brown, about 4 minutes. Drain briefly on paper towels. Serve hot with vegetables tossed in balsamic vinaigrette.
• Whisk together the vinegar and mustard in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

CHEESE-STUFFED PEPPERS: CHILE RELLENOS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Brush peppers with 2 tablespoons of the oil (reserving the balance of the oil) and roast until blackened, about 10 minutes. Remove and cover roasting pan with foil or use tongs to transfer peppers to a plastic bag. Let "sweat" for 15 minutes. This will help you remove the skin from the pepper.
• In a small bowl, mix jack cheese, goat cheese, thyme, rosemary, and sage, and mash together.
• Peel charred skin from peppers and stuff each pepper with about 2 tablespoons of the cheese/herb mixture. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Spread blue cornmeal on a piece of waxed paper and roll stuffed peppers to coat with cornmeal. Sear coated peppers on all sides, leaving undisturbed for the first 2 minutes to allow the cornmeal to integrate into the surface of the peppers and to allow the caramelization process to begin to prevent crusting off of the cornmeal.
• Transfer to a platter and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

EGGPLANT AND RED PEPPER BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Mix red bell pepper, onion, and garlic in a large mixing bowl; season with basil, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the pepper mixture; toss to coat the vegetables evenly.
• Brush eggplant slices with olive oil to coat thinly.
• Spread about 1/3 of the pepper mixture into the bottom of a square glass baking dish; top with a layer of about 1/3 of the eggplant. Repeat layering twice more. Top final layer with mozzarella cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven until the cheese is browned and the vegetables are bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes.