Rosie Makes Chile Rellenos.

There are two things that if I want, I'm going to have to make myself.

One is any type of Chinese food.  The food is not particularly good at the China Macs down here, and they consistently serve stale fried wonton strips.

The other food is a decent chile relleno.

I've been jonesin' for a chile relleno and finally got around to making them today.

Gotta scratch that itch!

I'm starting out making a tomato sauce for my stuffed chiles.

Mr. Hawthorne usually has some type of  tomato sauce in the freezer.  I grabbed a block of that - about a cup - and chopped a little bit of onion and some sweet peppers, minced a small garlic clove.

Gave it juice of 1/2 a lime and a little water, then a sprinkle of oregano, red pepper flakes, and chili powder.  Heat through.

And you have a sauce.

Taste test as you go along and adjust flavors to suit you.  You know... Cook.

I had two poblano peppers which I charred...

... all over.

When the chiles are blackened, I plunged them in ice water.

Then rubbed off the blackened skin with thumb and forefinger.

Clean with a paper towel.

You don't have to get all the black off.
Leave on stubborn parts for a bit of flavor.

Slice down the side, about 3 inches.

Snip out the seed ball at the top, take the stringy ribs out, and clean out the seeds.

 

Earlier, I had cooked black beans and yellow rice for the stuffing.

I stuffed the peppers with the rice and beans.

Then I added in some cubes of Muenster cheese.

Do not overfill your peppers.

Overlap the pepper edges and skewer it.

For the batter:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 tsp baking powder

pinch kosher salt

3/4 cup beer

Whisk dry ingredients.

Whisk in beer until smooth.

Dredge stuffed chiles through flour first.

Then coat in batter.

Fry in 350° peanut oil for about 5 minutes, until golden brown.

Drain on paper towels.

Serve on a bed of the tomato sauce.

Top with homemade salsa and snipped scallions.

That crust is crisp, extremely light, and delightful.  I can taste the beer.

The cheese is gooey wonderful.

Delightful!

 

 ¡Buen apetito!