SC - SC Chiles Rellenos (revisited) OOP New World, Recipe (long)

[Elysant1 at aol.com]

Adamantius said:

(snip)
>I've made them in restaurants (bearing in mind that by this point we've 
strayed >pretty far from what a Mexican cook would respectfully call a chile 
relleno), and
>what it involved was filling the peppers, chilling them until the filling 
was firm, >coating them with flour, dipping in egg wash, then in very fine 
crumbs, chilling again >on a cake rack to help firm up the breading, then a 
second dipping and crumbing, >chilling again, then frying _very_ briefly to 
set the coating, after which they can be >either finished in the fryer, 
chilled again or possibly even frozen, or finished in the >oven.

>The problem is that a very moist filling, when it reaches 212 F., will 
essentially >cause the cheese to explode out of the peppers.

(snip)
 
>As I said, I solved all this by using peeled, roasted chiles, stuffing
>them with a filling that didn't need to be cooked, and serving them
>uncoated, cold. Or rather, room temp.

Then Olwen added:

>Adamantuis, I tip my hat to you.  I once decided to make those Jalapino 
>Poppers when given a bushel of peppers.  I made up the cheese mixture and 
>cored all number of peppers and piped in the mix and dipped the little 
>buggers in a coating and put them in to fry.  Not ONE had any filling left 
>in it.  Needless to say, I laughted myself half to death.

I came across this recipe for Chile Rellenos in one of my Mexican cookbooks.  
The method outlined in the recipe might prove useful to solving the problem 
of losing the filling from the chilies....  I have not tried this recipe yet, 
but LOVE Chile Rellenos - remembering them fondly from living on the Tex-Mex 
border some years ago.  

Elysant

Chiles Rellenos (Stuffed Chilies)

8 green bell peppers or large poblano chilies
1 16-ounce can tomatoes
1 small onion, cut up
1 teaspoon instant beef bouillon granules
Dash pepper
Dash ground cinnamon
4 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese (1 pound) 
8 egg yolks
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 egg whites
Fat for frying
Cilantro or parsley

Broil peppers 2 inches from heat for about 15 minutes, turning often, till 
all sides are blistered.  Place peppers in a paper or plastic bag.  Close bag 
and let stand about 10 minutes or until cool enough to handle.  

Meanwhile make tomato sauce.  In blender container combine undrained 
tomatoes, onions, bouillon granules, pepper and cinnamon.  Cover, and blend 
until smooth.  Transfer to a saucepan.  Heat to boiling, simmer, uncovered, 
for 5 minutes.  Cover and keep warm over low heat while preparing peppers.  

Peel peppers; remove stems and seeds.  Stuff each pepper with 1/2 cup of the 
cheese.  Set aside.  Slightly beat egg yolks and water.  Add flour and salt; 
beat 6 minutes or until thick and lemon-colored.  beat egg whites til stiff 
peaks form.  Fold yolks into whites.

In a large heavy skillet heat 1/2 inch fat to 375 degrees.  For each serving 
spoon about 1/3 cup egg batter into hot fat spreading batter in a circle.  
Fry 3 or 4 at a time.  As batter begins to set, gently top each mound with a 
stuffed chili.  Cover with another 1/3 cup batter.  Continue cooking 2 - 3 
minutes more until underside is brown.  Turn carefully; brown second side.  
Drain on paper toweling, keep warm in 300 degree oven while preparing 
remainder.  Serve with tomato sauce, garnish with snipped cilantro or 
parsley. Makes 8 servings.