Every once in awhile, it’s a good idea to for us to run a straightforward, nuts-and-bolts recipe for staples of the chile cuisine world. This is one of those posts.
The good folks at Berridge Farms grow produce on over 300 acres of prime farmland in the Hatch Valley. Among their products are the famous Hatch Green Chile, which has been featured on BBC News and in magazines like Sunset and Gourmet. With over 60 years experience growing the peppers, they know a thing or two about making good chile rellenos, too.
How to Prepare Green Chiles:
1. Wash peppers and let them dry.
2. Prick holes in the peppers with a knife or a fork.
3. Roast the peppers either on a barbeque grill or in an oven broiler about 5-10 minutes or until the chiles blister. Turn the chile peppers over and roast them again until they blister on the second side.
4. Remove them and put them in ice water.
5. Peel them and use the peppers immediately or freeze them either peeled or unpeeled in freezer bags for use later.
- 1 lb ground beef, seasoned to taste with cumin, salt, pepper, and chile powder
- 1 cup diced onion
- Monterrey Jack cheese (or your favorite cheese)
- 1 cup flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 large eggs
- 1 lb Hatch Green Chiles or other large, green chile such as pasillas
- Roast the peppers according to the instructions listed in this blog post.
- For the filling, brown the ground beef and onion. Add in grated cheese while the beef is still hot and mix it with a spoon to melt the cheese. Alternatively, you could skip the meat and use strips of your favorite cheese instead.
- For the batter, start by combining the flour with 2 teaspoons of salt andthe black pepper on a plate.
- Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Beat the egg whites until stiff, fold in egg yolks, then add the baking powder and last 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
- Cut a slit on one side of each roasted pepper. Carefully remove the seeds.
- Start heating a pan with 1/2 inch deep of oil in it on the stove at medium high heat.
- Stuff each chile with your choice of filling.
- Roll the stuffed chile in flour, dusting both sides. Dip the chile in the egg batter.
- Once the oil is hot, carefully place the coated chiles in it one at a time. Fry them until browned on both sides. You can drop a bit of batter into the oil first to make sure it’s hot enough. If the batter sizzles in the oil, you’re good to go.
- Set each finished chile relleno on a plate with a paper towel to drain the excess oil, then serve.
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