Chiles Rellenos
- 6 poblano chiles
- 8 ounces Oaxacan-style string cheese, mozzarella, or Monterey Jack
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dredging
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon fine salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 (12-ounce) bottle or can lager-style beer
- Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
- Mexican Tomato Sauce, warm, recipe follows
- 2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
- 1/4 medium yellow onion
- 6 cloves garlic
- 5 sprigs fresh coriander (cilantro)
- 1 serrano chile (with seeds)
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (preferably Mexican)
- Special equipment:Wooden skewers about 6 inches long
- To prepare the chiles:
- Position a rack on the upper most shelf of the broiler element and preheat.
- Put the chiles on a foil-lined broiler pan and broil, turning occasionally with tongs, until the skin is charred, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer the chiles to a bowl, cover, and cool for 10 minutes.
- Carefully rub the charred skin off the chiles.
- Using a small knife, make a lengthwise slit along the side of each chile to form a pocket.
- Carefully cut out and discard the seeds.
- Cut the cheese into 6 (1/4-inch-thick) slabs, about 3/4 the length of each chile (your chiles probably vary in length, so tailor the cheese to the chiles).
- Slip the cheese pieces into the pocket of each chile so they're 2/3 full.
- (If the cheese protrudes from the chiles, just cut a little off.)
- "Sew" each chile shut with a wooden skewer or long toothpick.
- (The skewers should be longer than the chiles, so they can be easily pulled out after frying.)
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, cumin, and salt in a large bowl.
- Stir in the beer to a make a smooth batter.
- In a large, wide, heavy-bottomed pot, pour in the oil to a depth of about 3 inches.
- Heat over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer inserted in the oil registers 365 degrees F.
- Put the flour for dredging on a plate.
- Working in 2 batches, dredge the chiles in the flour (the dampness of the chiles creates a light paste with the flour that seals over any tears), dip in the batter, and carefully add to the oil.
- Fry, turning the chiles once, until golden brown and crispy, about 4 minutes per batch.
- Using tongs, transfer the chiles rellenos to a dry paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain.
- Sprinkle with salt, to taste.
- Gently pull out and discard the skewers.
- Heat the sauce.
- Spoon some of the sauce on a plate and set 1 chile relleno on top.
- Repeat with the remaining sauce and chiles.
- Serve.
- In a blender, combine all the ingredients and puree until smooth.
- Transfer the tomato puree to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Lower the heat and simmer until slightly thick, about 10 minutes.
- Yield: about 3 cups
chiles, string cheese, flour, baking powder, ground cumin, salt, lagerstyle beer, vegetable oil, tomato sauce, tomatoes, yellow onion, garlic, cilantro, serrano chile, kosher salt, ground cinnamon
Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/chiles-rellenos-recipe.html (may not work)