Chiles Rellenos

A batter of nothing but whisked egg whites with the yolks folded back in, which is why it puffs and clings.

Egg. Not vegetarian — contains mozzarella whose rennet the source does not name.

Ingredients

the chillies

• 8 large poblano chillies
• 400 g Oaxaca cheese or mozzarella, in thick batons
• plain flour, for dusting

the batter

• 4 eggs, separated
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons plain flour

to serve

• oil, for frying, about 3 cm depth
• 600 ml salsa, as on its own page, warmed
• corn tortillas, as on their own page

Method

1. THE BATTER IS NOTHING BUT WHISKED EGG WHITES WITH THE YOLKS FOLDED BACK IN, and that is why it puffs and clings. There is no milk, no water, no beer and almost no flour. The whites are whisked to stiff peaks, the yolks are folded through, and what results is a foam thick enough to sit on a chilli held by its stalk rather than running off it. In hot oil the air in that foam expands and sets into a light golden shell. A conventional flour-and-liquid batter slides off a smooth charred chilli before it ever reaches the pan.
2. THE CHILLI IS DUSTED WITH FLOUR OR NOTHING STICKS. A skinned poblano is wet and slippery. A thin coat of plain flour patted on and the excess knocked off gives the foam something to grip; without it the batter slides off in the oil and leaves a bare chilli and a pan full of fried egg.
3. THEY ARE SKINNED UNDER A CLOTH AND PATTED THOROUGHLY DRY. Charred black, fifteen minutes under a cloth, then the skins rubbed away. Then dried properly on kitchen paper, inside and out -- any moisture left on the surface defeats the flour, and any water inside turns to steam and blows the shell off.
4. THE WHITES ARE WHISKED TO STIFF PEAKS AND USED AT ONCE. The foam begins to weep within a few minutes of being made. Everything else -- chillies charred, skinned, stuffed, floured, oil at temperature, salsa warm -- is finished before the eggs are touched.
5. THE OIL IS AT A MODERATE HEAT AND THEY ARE TURNED ONCE. Too hot and the shell browns in thirty seconds while the cheese is cold. Moderate, two to three minutes a side, and the cheese melts as the shell sets. Turned repeatedly, the shell cracks and the cheese escapes.
6. The poblanos charred black all over on a dry griddle or over a flame, 10 minutes, turned often.
7. Piled in a bowl, COVERED WITH A CLOTH 15 MINUTES, then the skins rubbed off. NOT under water.
8. Each slit down one side, the stalk left on, and the seeds eased out with a teaspoon.
9. PATTED THOROUGHLY DRY, inside and out, with kitchen paper.
10. Each stuffed with batons of cheese and the slit pressed closed, secured with a cocktail stick if needed.
11. Dusted all over with plain flour and the excess knocked off.
12. The oil heated to 3 cm in a wide pan over a MEDIUM heat. The salsa warmed in a separate pan.
13. ONLY NOW: the egg whites whisked with the salt to STIFF PEAKS.
14. The yolks and the 2 tablespoons of flour FOLDED in gently, keeping the air.
15. Each chilli held by the stalk, dipped and turned in the foam until thickly coated, and lowered into the oil.
16. Fried 2 to 3 MINUTES, TURNED ONCE, until puffed and golden on both sides. Drained briefly.
17. Served at once in a pool of the warm salsa, with tortillas.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Mexico · All recipes