If you have never had chile rellenos, you're missing out on one of life's greatest pleasures. A chile relleno is Mexican food at its finest: a cheese stuffed pepper deep fried in oil and served with tomato sauce. They're easy, delicious, and dinner guests will abandon their diets in the pursuit of second helpings. As a lover of both good food and healthy living, I've developed my own recipe for a slightly healthier version of this classic Mexican dish. Give it a try and dig in.
Kira's Chiles Rellenos
4 or 5 Anaheim chili peppers (I like using these since they're a mild kind of pepper, but if you like it hot and spicy, you can switch them for something else)
1 small block of Monterey jack cheese
2 eggs, separated
2 cups of whole wheat flour
Vegetable oil
Sauce:
4 or 5 garlic cloves (minced)
6 tomatoes, peeled
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup vegetable broth ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of corn starch
Salt to taste
Directions:
Turn the oven on broil. Place chili peppers on a lightly greased baking sheet, and wait until the skin on each side has blackened (turn over if necessary). Remove the peppers from the oven and place them a large bowl. Cover with saran wrap and wait at least five minutes. While you're waiting, cut the block of cheese into thin strips.
Remove the saran wrap and place peppers on a cutting board. Slowly peel the pepper skin off using your fingers; if you've roasted your peppers long enough and kept them covered, this should be easy.
Using a knife, make a small slit at the top of the pepper. Carefully insert sticks of cheese into the pepper; use toothpicks if necessary.
Pour vegetable oil into a pan until it's roughly a quarter inch deep.
Prepare three bowls. Beat the egg whites in first one and the yolks in the second. Fold the beaten yolks into the egg whites. In a third bowl, place two cups of whole-wheat flour.
Roll each cheese-stuffed pepper first in the flour, then in the egg mixture. From there, place the peppers in pan and fry them until they're golden brown.
Drain the peppers on paper towels to remove some of the excess oil.
Serve with tomato sauce and enjoy!
Directions for sauce:
Remove the skins from your tomatoes (sometimes I'm too lazy to do this, so if you want to skip this step, it won't make a dramatic difference in the outcome)
Put tomato skins and garlic in blender and blend until it's a puree. Heat the three tablespoons of olive oil in a pan then add your puree. Cook for 5 minutes or so before adding the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 15 minutes. Pour over your chile rellenos.