Chile Rellenos

Chile rellenos are one of the more underrated, underappreciated Mexican dishes around. Long a staple of Mexican cuisine, the rellenos found in most average Mexican restaurants range from bland to gooey, with mushy breading on the outside, hastily thrown together because they aren't ordered often. This is no indictment on deep fried, cheese filled rellenos, which will always have a place in my heart, literally. Rather, this is about discovering the traditional relleno -- a dish straight from the Mexican garden -- in all its healthy glory. Think of nopales (cactus paddles), chiles of all sorts, volcanic soil, burning mesquite wood, fresh tomatoes and cilantro, lime wedges, and a simple pot of beans, all in a shady garden setting with the sounds of Mexico (children playing, traffic and chatter, guitars and drums) as the background soundtrack. While all this doesn't capture the simple relleno it does embody the memories I have of special places I've been in Mexico.

Several years ago I watched an episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" in which he lost a chile relleno battle to the owners of La Casita in Los Angeles. Flay produced a deep fried relleno with manchego cheese and eggplant, while Ramiro and Jaime made a vegetarian relleno with nopales and a light tomato sauce. While I'm sure that both rellenos were wonderful, it was the vegetarian relleno that caught my eye. I made it several times over the years, relying solely on memory of the episode as there was no written recipe available.

Recently I've been craving roasted chiles in any form, probably because I have pounds of jalapenos, not to mention an abundance of grape tomatoes and cilantro, all of which I bought at a Phoenix produce sale (60lbs of produce for $10) through POWWOW. So I dusted off the old memory banks and set about making the relleno with the ingredients I had on hand. Instead of using regular on-the-vine tomatoes for the sauce, I used grape tomatoes, which is a first for me as the price of grape tomatoes would usually make using them cost prohibitive. The resulting sauce was sublime, not as acidic and more aromatic, with a hint of epazote. I blended the tomatoes, sweet onion, garlic, epazote and cilantro with the water I simmered them in, saving some of the water to stir into the vegetable filling. I substituted for the lack of nopales by using jicama -- totally different flavors and textures -- and used leftover brown rice and black beans in the filling, which also included plenty of onions, orange bell pepper, roasted corn, garlic and carrots as well. This was all simmered in a roasted tomato/jalapeno salsa I'd made a few days before, a salsa that had no heat to it and turned out better as a simmer sauce. One could certainly use the tomato sauce described above or use vegetable broth. The jicama, an amazing vegetable, absorbed all the flavors and stayed crunchy despite the cooking, which was a nice surprise.

A key, per Ramiro and Jaime, is to never rinse your chiles after roasting them, this washes off all that good roasty char flavor. Another tip they provided, and this came directly from one of their grandmothers, is to look for poblano chiles that have straight stems if you like your chiles less spicy, or to look for chiles with curved stems for a spicier relleno. Mine had curved stems and the heat was just right for my palate.

Chile Relleno

4 Poblanos, roasted and sweated, skins peeled off

Filling:

1 medium onion, sweet or white, sliced thin on a mandolin
1/2 a bell pepper, any color, sliced thin on a mandolin
1/2 an ear of roasted corn cut off the cob
1 cup jicama cut into small matchsticks
2 carrots, sliced thin on a mandolin
2 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane
tomato sauce or vegetable broth for simmering
salt and pepper to taste

Brown rice and black beans

Sauce:
3 cups grape tomatoes or 2 whole tomatoes
1 medium onion, cut into quarters
2 cloves garlic
2 chiltepin berries
3 sprigs epazote
1/4 cilantro, leaves and stems
pinch of oregano
1 tsp salt

For the filling, prep the first 5 ingredients and then saute for several minutes in a large skillet. Add the tomato sauce or broth, about 1 1/2 cups, or until its as thick as you like it, add the grated garlic and let simmer on low for a few more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

For the sauce, place all ingredients except salt in a sauce pot with 3 cups water, cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Next, use a slotted spoon to transfer everything to a blender along with a teaspoon of salt, add 1 1/2 cups of the water to the blender and puree, once again adding as much water as you prefer. Test for salt.

After the chiles are roasted and sweated, peel the skins off, make a slice near the stem and then a slice lengthwise (like a T) and remove seeds, trying to leave the chile intact if possible. Not always possible! I put about a 1/3 cup of the rice and beans mixed together in first, followed by an equal amount of the veggie mixture, and then topped it off with a sprinkle of cotija cheese. Next, pour the tomato sauce around the plate, be careful not to drown the chile. to create a nice red and green contrast. You can insert a toothpick to hold it all together if needed. Serve immediately.

Buen Provecho!

Jesse A.
6/28/2016