My mom makes the best Chile Relleno's and whenever I get to see her it is one of those things I always ask her to make me. Tonight I was craving some of her delicious chile's but since they probably wouldn't make the trip from San Diego to Alaska very well I decided to make my own. The recipe below is for two stuffed chile's.

Chile Relleno's

2 Poblano Peppers
Monterey Jack Cheese
2 Eggs
Oil for frying

The first thing you need to do is remove the outer skin from the poblano peppers. If you have a gas stove the easiest way is to use direct flame, it is quick. Just be careful not to burn the peppers! You have to keep turning them to get all the sides of the peppers. If you are like me and you have an electric stove, booo, you can place your peppers on a baking sheet and turn your oven up to 500 degrees. Put your peppers in making sure to check them every few minutes and turning them so that all sides are being roasted. Once you are finished roasting the peppers either way immediately put them in a plastic bag and let them sweat for about 10 to 15 minutes. This will make it easier to remove the outer skin. The next thing you want to do is remove the outer skin and the inside seeds and veins. You can do this under running water to make it a little easier. Removing the inside seeds and veins will cut down on the spiciness but it's really hard to know if a pepper will be a spicy one or a mild one until you bite into it. Cut a slit on one side of the pepper to clean the insides. Once the peppers are clean be sure to dry them really well and then fill each pepper through the slit you created with 5 to 6 slices of the jack cheese, close and set aside. At this point you can start warming up your cooking oil in a pan on medium high. Use enough oil so that the bottom of the peppers are completely immersed in it but not too much so that the whole pepper is covered. In a metal mixing bowl, I used my Kitchen Aid, mix 2 egg whites making sure to reserve the yolks for later use, until they become frothy and form peaks.

Fold in one egg yolk with a spatula very carefully into the egg whites, then the other. Now take one stuffed chile at a time and dip into the egg mixture completely covering it. Place the peppers into the hot oil and fry one side while using your cooking spatula to move the oil over the top of the pepper. Once the bottom side is browned flip the pepper over and do the same. Place on paper towels to drain the excess oil. Serve with corn or flour tortillas and my mom always make her Sopa de Arroz  to go with these.


I like my peppers dry without any sauce because I am weird like that but my mom likes to make a simple tomato based sauce to pour over the tops of her chile's.


Sauce

Tomato
Onion
Garlic
Water
Chicken Bouillon

The amounts will vary depending on how many chile's you make and how much sauce you want. In a pan saute some chopped tomato, chopped onion and garlic in a little olive oil. Add water and chicken bouillon  and then raise heat and bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil lower the heat and let simmer for a few minutes. Pour over the cooked Chile Relleno's.