Chiles Rellenos en salsa de tomate (stuffed poblano peppers in tomato sauce)

Well I hope you are hungry today because this recipe is certainly a mouthful of flavor and goodness! I have a very good friend, who used to work with me then moved from the company I used to work and this town. He has always been in love with latin culture and besides being a good dancer, he enjoys cooking so he emailed me today asking for this recipe... to my surprise I didn't have the recipe on the blog (I first sent him here because I thought I did) so that just can't be possible...

This dish is probably one of the most common ones you can find in Mexican cuisine... what is great about it is that you can vary the stuffing with as many different ingredients as your imagination allows.. you can even skip the egg batter part (although I hate to say they won't be the same! so indulge every now and then) and have a light version of it. They certainly bring lots of childhood memories to me... also during lent is a very common dish to serve because you can just stuff them with cheese and there is no meat involved in your meal but still get something delicious to serve (use Mexican/Spanish rice and refried beans for side dishes)

Provecho! this is a keeper! will try to cook it and post some pictures!

Ingredients:

3 tbsp vegetable oil or lard

2 medium white onions, chopped finely

3 lb. fresh ripe tomatoes or 2 28 oz. cans of whole tomatoes in their juice, undrained (not seasoned)

1 teaspoon cinnamon, preferably Mexican

1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

8 medium size poblano peppers

2 cups chicken or beef broth

½ cup silvered almonds

1 ½ lb. coarsely ground meat (can be pork or beef)

½ cup raisins

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

6 eggs, cold

2 tbsp. all purpose flour, plus 1 cup for dredging the peppers

Springs of cilantro or parsley to decorate

Salt to taste

Toothpicks

Vegetable oil for frying

Preparation:

Tomato Sauce

In a medium saucepan heat the vegetable oil over medium. Add the onions and cook until browned stirring constantly. Add the pureed tomatoes, cinnamon, black pepper and bring the mix to a boil. Let it simmer until it becomes the consistency of thick tomato sauce (30 minutes approximately).When mixture has thicken, remove 2 cups of the tomato mixture and set aside. Stir in the broth and let it simmer for another 45 minutes or while you prepare the peppers.

Filling:

Put a medium size pan at medium-high heat. Add the almonds and stir until golden brown. Set aside. In the same pan crumble the meat and cook stirring often until thoroughly cooked. If fat was released from the meat, drain off. Add the 2 cups of sauce you set aside, raisins and vinegar. Cook over medium heat stirring regularly until mixture is thick. Add the almonds season with salt to taste. Cool.

Batter:

Place in a deep pot (wide enough to allow you maneuver the peppers while frying them and at least 3 inches deep) about 1 ½ inches of oil and set to medium high heat. Be careful not overheating the oil because you can burn the peppers and the taste will be compromised. Fry the peppers (one by one if preferred) for about 3 minutes until evenly blistered and changed color. Set aside on paper towels and let them cool. When peppers are cold enough, rub off skins then cut an incision in the side (1/2 inch below stem and stop ½ of the tip). If desired, remove seeds and rinse in water. Dry with paper towels.

Stuff each well drained pepper with about ½ cup of the cooled meat filling. Slightly overlap two sides of the incision and close together with toothpicks. Place on parchment paper and freeze for at least 1 hour to firm (or overnight).

Reheat the oil at medium high heat. Separate eggs and place the egg whites in the stand mixer with ½ teaspoon of salt beating them until they begin to form firm peaks, add the yolks two at a time until well incorporated. Add 2 tablespoon of flour (or cream of tartar). Set aside.

Frying:

Put in one plate the cup of flour and start rolling the frozen peppers, shaking off the excess of flour. Dip into the batter and quickly pull straight up out of the batter, put immediately in the hot oil and bast them gently with spoonfuls of the hot oil. When peppers are golden brown in the bottom and look semi-cooked on top, turn them over. When the other side is cook, remove and put in paper towels to drain for about 5 minutes.

When you are ready to serve the peppers, heat the oven at 400F and warm up the tomato sauce. Place the peppers in a cooking sheet, pull out toothpicks and bake for 15 minutes to crisp slightly. Place warmed tomato sauce into a plate and put peppers on top garnishing with cilantro springs.

Useful tips:

If peppers are solid frozen, be sure to complete the dipping in batter and frying a full half hour in advance of oven reheating to allow full defrosting.
To save time, you can prepare the sauce and peppers in advance and just leave the frying for the day you want to eat them.
Variations of filling can be cheese (Chihuahua preferably or manchego, mozarella) chicken with mushrooms, use your imagination!
Variation of peppers used for stuffing can be Anaheim or jalapenos
While most Americans think “fried” equals crunchy, in Mexican cuisine that’s not the case, the classic batter used for stuffed peppers is a soufflé batter, tender and comforting.