Chili Relleno

Chili Relleno is one of my Mexican food favorites and vegetarian, as well.  They really aren't very difficult to prepare, although you have to be careful with the chili's, but just take your time and they aren't all that difficult to do.  Of course, they are a fried food, so I try to use the healthiest method I can when cooking them.  A side dish of refried beans compliments them well.

INGREDIENTS
6 Fresh Poblano Peppers (Large)
Monterrey Jack Cheese (amount depends on the size of your chili peppers)
4-6 Eggs (COLD!)
Olive Oil
1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
Salt (just a pinch)
Salsa

PREPARATION
I always try to pick nice, large firm peppers from the produce department at the grocery store.  I use thin slices of Monterrey Jack cheese, cut into strips no wider than the peppers.  Make sure the eggs you are going to use are very cold and right out of the refrigerator.  Sprinkle half of the flour onto a flat dinner plate and keep the rest to sprinkle onto the chili's.

PREPARING POBLANO PEPPERS
We are going to roast the skins off the Poblano Peppers before we use them.  This may be done on an open grill flame, or as I often do, using the broiler in the oven.  The skin is mostly transparent and a bit stringy, but will come off without a lot of effort, if you're careful.

Roast the peppers on the grill or under the broiler until the skin appears blackened.  Turn the peppers over and blacken both sides well.  Watch them closely as it doesn't take a lot of flame to blacken the skins.  Once blackened, remove the peppers from the flame, allowing them to sit and cool so you can handle them comfortably.  Using your fingers, begin the tedious removal of the skins.  The skin will pull off quite easily, but may try to still stick in places, so be careful and try to not tear the chili.  Just remove the skins.  You may rub the skin gently, under cold running water to help.  The peppers will now be soft and easy to tear, so be gentle with them.

Carefully, make a split down the chili and gently open it so you can remove the seeds and any white colored membrane you see.  Leave the stems on the chili for easy handling and appearance.

Open the cut you made in the chili and gently insert the pieces of Monterrey Jack cheese.  Don't overfill the chili's and tear them!  Once properly stuffed, you should be able to close the chili back up with the cheese inside.

BATTER
Put the cold egg whites into a chilled bowl and whip until the the egg whites are stiff.  Now, stir in the egg yolks, along with a pinch of salt and fold the yolks into the whites until they are well mixed.

Place the stuffed chili's onto the plate of flour and using your fingers, just sprinkle the tops of the chili's with the remaining flour.  You don't want a heavy coating of flour....just a light one to help the batter stick to the chili when you fry it.

COOKING
Use a large frying pan.  Pour olive oil into the frying pan to a depth of about 1/2 inch.  Apply medium high heat to the frying pan to heat the oil.  One at a time, pick up a chili by the stem with your fingers and support the bottom end of the chili with a spoon, while you dip the chili into the egg batter.  Completely cover the chili with the egg batter, then gently place it in the frying pan.  Just fry the chili until it is a nice, golden brown, then turn it over and fry to brown the other side.  The cheese will melt inside the chili while you're frying.

When the chili is cooked, remove it from the frying pan and place it on a plate, covered with paper towels to absorb any excess oil from frying.

Your Chili Relleno is now ready to eat and should be served hot and with some salsa on the side.  Enjoy!!

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