Monte Carlo Restaurant Chiles Rellenos
Yield: 6 servings Rellenos; about 1 quart of sauce, which can be used in enchiladas and other recipes, too
Ingredients
Rellenos
- Vegetable oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup milk
- 2 eggs, slightly beaten
- 12 large green chiles or Italian frying peppers with stems, dry-roasted over a flame or in oven, peeled and seeded
- 1 pound Monterey Jack or Colby cheese, cut into strips
Red Chile Sauce
- 3 ounces dried red ancho chile pods
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- Boiling water
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Rellenos
- In a deep-fat fryer, electric skillet or deep, heavy skillet, begin heating oil for frying.
- In a bowl, combine flour with baking powder, salt and cornmeal. Blend milk with eggs and combine with dry ingredients. Stir to smooth batter, adding a little extra milk if necessary so that batter will cling to chiles. Set batter aside.
- Make a small slit in each chile below stem and remove seeds. Fill each chile with cheese, being careful to avoid breaking the chile. Dip stuffed chile into batter using a large spoon. Fry in hot fat (420 degrees F) until batter is golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Drain on paper towels.
- Serve with Red Chile Sauce.
Red Chile Sauce
- Place chile pods on cookie sheet and heat in a 200 degrees F oven for about 10 minutes, leaving oven door ajar. Stir often, being careful not to scorch.
- Soak heated pods in pan of warm water for 15 minutes, until soft and pliant.
- Wearing rubber gloves, open pods and remove seeds and strip veins. Place pods in blender container with garlic and small amount of boiling water. Blenderize to make a thick red paste. Gradually add about 2 to 2 1/2 cups boiling water and the salt, and blend until smooth.
- Store leftover sauce, covered, in refrigerator.
Attribution
Monte Carlo Restaurant, Grants, New Mexico
