Thursday, December 23, 2010

Chile Relleno. Part 5 of ? Rosie Makes Chiles Rellenos. Part Un.

Right when you thought I'd never get around to the chiles, I'm finally doing the chiles now. Already, we have : #1 Salsa Roja #2 Mr. Hawthorne's Salsa #3 Stuffing for the chile #4 Rosie's Beans
On to the chile preparation.
When picking a chile for stuffing, get a nice, firm, smooth-skinned chile. I'm using an Anaheim on the left and a poblano on the right.
Set over an open flame and blacken the skins.
Most directions for blackening peppers call for you to put them in a paper bag, close it tightly, and let it steam for a few minutes before peeling the skin off. I find my method quicker. I plunge the chile immediately into ice-cold water and you're able to easily rub the skin off.
Drain.
Ready to stuff.
Use a paper towel to get any excess blackened skin off.
Slice 2/3 way down from the stem and use scissors or a knife to cut out the seed cluster.
Rinse out seeds.
Blot off chiles.
Stuff.
And secure with toothpicks. Sometimes I get a bit carried away.
For the batter, I used about 1 cup of flour.
A teaspoon of baking soda.
A teaspoon of salt.
A teaspoon or more of cumin.
I beat two egg whites until stiff peaks formed.
I added sparkling water to my flour mixture until I got a nice batter - about 1/2 cup.
Add in beaten egg whites.
Gently fold in.
Cover chiles with batter ...
... and gently drop into hot oil. Fry until nicely browned - about 2 minutes each side.
Drain on paper towels.
I'm going to have to shoot this in daylight because it is beautiful.
Party in my mouth. Every bite is a buffet of flavors, textures, and temperatures - both Fahrenheit and Scoville.

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