I've been working all this week on an article about chile peppers-- what's hot, what's not, what can you find around Roanoke and what can be done with them.
The column comes out on Sept. 12 and includes some fun facts about chile peppers as well as a recipe for "Habanero Hellfire Chili." You chile heads watch out-- that one's for you.
But as I described all the wonderful varieties I found at grocery stores and markets around Roanoke, I came to the lovely poblano, a nice dark green chile with just a hint of sweet and spice. And thinking about the poblano makes me think of chiles rellenos, that delicious Mexican dish of stuffed chile peppers.
I've had two kinds of chiles rellenos in my life-- earth-shatteringly good ones and mediocre ones.
I'll start with the mediocre ones, which can be found at just about any Mexican chain restaurant around Roanoke.
I'm not trying to diss these restaurants too much, because I spend a lot of time eating in them. But their chiles rellenos usually consist of a tiny piece of pepper, a glob of ground beef and enough white cheese to choke a horse. When I order chiles rellenos, I'm hoping for an entire poblano or Anaheim, not a teeny scrap buried way under the cheese.
Perhaps I find them mediocre because I'm comparing them to the best I've had, which were charred on the grill and stuffed with fresh chorizo and cheese by one of my dad's friends, who hailed from Mexico. They were out-of-this-world.
So, it occurs to me now that I have never come across a darn good recipe for chiles rellenos. My dad's friend has long returned to his home country and is not around to show me how it's done. An online search turned up the recipe below, which looks like a basic version stuffed with cheese and then battered and fried.
I'm not sure if this recipe will be included with my story next week or not. We may run out of space, so just in case that happens, I'll share it now.
I'm wondering if anyone out there has ever made chiles rellenos stuffed with beef or sausage? Somewhere out there, I'm sure, is a killer recipe for chiles rellenos that someone is just waiting to send our way.
Chiles Rellenos
Dozens of different chiles rellenos recipes can be found in cookbooks and online. This is a simple one that involves battering and frying cheese-stuffed chiles.
12 Anaheim or poblano chile peppers, charred and peeled
1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, cut into strips
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour for coating
Remove seeds and membranes from peppers. Stuff each pepper with a strip of cheese.
In a small bowl, combine milk, flour, egg, baking powder, baking soda, salt and canola oil; mix well to make a batter.
Pour enough oil in heavy frying pan to reach 1 inch in depth and heat over medium-high heat. Roll each pepper in flour and dip in the batter. Fry until lightly browned on both sides.
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