Chiles Rellenos with Tostones

Chiles rellenos (stuffed peppers) are relatively new to me. Or are they? Couldn't you call a jalapeno popper a chile relleno? It is after all, a chile pepper...and it is stuffed with cheese...and it is usually battered and fried. So is a jalapeno popper a chile relleno? Sure sounds like it, in which case I've eaten many a chile relleno in my day. Classic chiles rellenos are made with somewhat larger chiles, and this recipe called for poblanos. To go along with it, I made tostones (fried plantains)...which aren't quite Mexican, but Latin American. I figured as long as the deep fryer is out...might as well get some use out of it.

Chile Relleno

To make a chile relleno you need the following: a roasted poblano chile, some kind of filling, a batter, and some hot oil in which to fry it. For the filling I went simple: Monterey Jack cheese. The batter is relatively simple as well...just gives your wrists a workout. I happen to have the luxury of owning a deep fryer, which regulates the temperature of the oil for me. Frying these bad boys stove top would be a completely different animal, but certainly not out of the question. Let's examine each step...

Roasting the chile

Set your broiler on high and set the oven rack just beneath it. Set some aluminum foil on the rack and lay the chiles down on it. Turn every couple of minutes until the skin blackens all over and the chiles' flesh becomes soft. This will take about 10 minutes or so. Remove from oven, set in a bowl, and cover. Once cooled, peel the skin from the chiles and discard. Your chiles are now ready for stuffing!

Stuffing the chiles

This is perhaps the easiest part of the process yet somehow I managed to make a mess of it. Using a sharp knife (preferably non-serrated) make an incision down one side of the chile from almost at the top to near the bottom. Try not to go all the way to the bottom though, you don't want to risk losing the filling. Scoop out as many of the seeds as you can.

I used a block of MJ cheese to use as my filling. Cut a decent sized rectangular piece of cheese to fit inside the chile. Try to make it as big as you can...but not too big so the chile won't close around it. Now you have a stuffed pepper...a chile relleno. Now it's time to batter it and fry it.

Battering the chile relleno

Dredge the chiles rellenos in four, and shake off the excess. Creating the batter involves separating some eggs...something I had never done before. If I can do it, you can do it...it's a lot easier than it sounds. I used only 3 eggs since I was only battering two rellenos. Separate the eggs and add about 1/2 teaspoon salt to the whites, and beat them until they form stiff peaks. It was fun doing this for the first time and seeing it actually work...but it definitely made my entire arm tired! Once the whites hold their shape a bit, beat in the yolks and 1 tablespoon of flour. The batter is ready! When the oil is hot enough, dip the floured chiles into the batter to coat and put them right into the fryer.

Frying the chiles rellenos

I fried them in my deep fryer at 375. About 5 minutes on one side (and using a spoon to baste the tops while the bottom cooked) and then about 4 minutes on the other. They come out a nice golden color. Then it's to a 400 degree oven to crisp them up just a touch and to fully melt the cheese inside.

It sounds like tons of work, but it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I will definitely try it again. RB says in the book 'All the techniques are manageable, though you'll notice increasingly better results the more times you make them.'

I heated up some fresh tomato salsa in a pan and to serve it I laid the chile relleno in the warm salsa.

Tostones

Tostones are pretty much plantain chips. The hardest part about this was peeling the plantain. By the time I had the peel off, my plantain was a sorry looking thing. But I had enough to work with. I cut the plantain on a bias into six pieces, each about 3/4 thick. I then fried them for 3 minutes at 375, took them out, and let them cool a bit on some paper towels.

Once cooled, I smashed them flat with a plate, and then they went back into the hot tub of oil for another 3 minutes (same temp). Then it was back to paper towels for clearing off excess oil and adding some salt. Nothing difficult here.

Ratings:

Chiles rellenos

Flavor: 4/5 - The batter wasn't as crispy as I'd prefer, but the dish as a whole was very tasty.

Difficulty: 2/5 - I think preparing the chiles is the toughest part, but even that isn't too bad. Like making tamales, this would be a lot of fun to do with a group of people.

Health: 2/5 - Fried and stuffed with cheese. Need I say more?

Kid Friendliness: 1/5 - Even my wife came home and said 'what is that??' and said it looked like a squid. Thanks. Yes, they have a funny shape, but a squid?? I don't see it. I have a feeling if my kids helped make them, they might be more inclined to try them. We'll see next time.

Tostones

Flavor: 0/5 - I must not have done this right, or my plantain just wasn't a good one. I've heard such good things about these, but mine were like eating slices of flavorless banana on cardboard. This was a complete and utter failure. But maybe I'll give it another shot down the line.