A Mexican favorite, chile relleno are stuffed poblano peppers with cheese and fried with a light batter. The chile rellenos are served with a flavorful and savory ranchero sauce.
I promised Joe I would make him his favorite Mexican dish ever...chile relleno. It's rare I let the poor guy order it when we go out, so I thought a treat for this party would be fun. Of course I did my research and put several things together as well as my own twist. The boys that work in the kitchen at the restaurant Joe works at always whip up some Mexican grub and they happened to make some ranchero sauce. Joe brought home a sample and I tasted my way through its ingredients. It was deep red with a primary tomato base and had chunks of green pepper and onion. I knew where I was going with this.
Now I can't offer you a Mexican classic without first embarrassing myself and showing you a picture of my first trip to Mexico. About 3 years ago Joe and I flew down to Cancun and visited Chichen Itza as well as I jumping onto my very first horse. His name was "Singer" and we galloped through the Mexican waters together.It was a moment I will never forget. Don't laugh.
Method:
1) Make ranchero sauce first. In a large and deep skillet, saute onion, bell pepper and jalapeno in olive oil until it begins to break down. About 10 minutes.
2) Add garlic and spices and cook for another 2-3 minutes until garlic begins to brown.
3) Add tomatoes with its juice and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Then reduce and cover on a simmer while you prepare the chile. Remove bay leaf before serving.
*Note: I made this earlier in the day and saved it for dinner. I thought the consistency and flavors pulled together more during those few hours of "sitting". So if you have the time to make this ahead, please do.
4) Make chile: Take the egg whites and using a stand mixer, whisk until stiff peaks form. Lightly whisk together the yolks in a separate bowl and fold in yolks with egg whites until light yellow. Set aside.
5) Place chiles on a foil lined baking sheet and roast in oven at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes or until all sides are blistered. Meanwhile, heat a large pan or cast iron with ½ inch canola or vegetable oil.
6) When chiles are done, remove and wrap with plastic wrap or place in plastic bag and remove outer charred skin. Use a small knife to cut an opening on one side of chile and discard seeds. Fill with crumbled queso fresco and secure with a toothpick.
6)Dredge the chile in flour and then in the egg mixture. Gently drop coated chile in heated oil and fry until all sides are golden brown. About 1-2 minutes per side.
*Note: I had some minor difficulty when I wanted to coat with the egg mixture. I quickly found out that this was due to the intense heat wave we've been having (try 100+) and because of that my egg mixture was quickly melting before my eyes. Make sure to evenly coat the pepper and if you need to use an extra spoon to coat, that will help too.
7) Serve chile atop of ranchero sauce and garnish with fresh cilantro and queso fresco.
Looking for more Mexican recipe inspiration? Try my slow cooker chicken chili verde recipe!
Chile Relleno with Ranchero Sauce
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Ingredients
Chile Relleno
- 4 pasilla chile
- 8 oz queso fresco plus more for garnish
- ½ c flour
- 4 eggs separated
- Canola oil for frying
Ranchero Sauce
- 1 32 oz can chopped tomatoes
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- ½ onion chopped
- 1 jalapeno diced (with or without seeds)
- 2-3 garlic cloves chopped
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
- Make ranchero sauce first. In a large and deep skillet, saute onion, bell pepper and jalapeno in olive oil until it begins to break down. About 10 minutes.
- Add garlic and spices and cook for another 2-3 minutes until garlic begins to brown.
- Add tomatoes with its juice and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Then reduce and cover on a simmer while you prepare the chile. Remove bay leaf before serving.
- Make chile: Take the egg whites and using a stand mixer, whisk until stiff peaks form. Lightly whisk together the yolks in a separate bowl and fold in yolks with egg whites until light yellow. Set aside.
- Place chiles on a foil lined baking sheet and roast in oven at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes or until all sides are blistered. Meanwhile, heat a large pan or cast iron with ½ inch canola or vegetable oil.
- When chiles are done, remove and wrap with plastic wrap or place in plastic bag and remove outer charred skin. Use a small knife to cut an opening on one side of chile and discard seeds. Fill with crumbled queso fresco and secure with a toothpick.
- Dredge the chile in flour and then in the egg mixture. Gently drop coated chile in heated oil and fry until all sides are golden brown. About 1-2 minutes per side.
- Serve chile atop of ranchero sauce and garnish with fresh cilantro and queso fresco.
Robert says
I too have had egg batter issues with it not sticking. To make the batter stick to the chile...first moisten the chile then dust with flour before coating in the egg batter. This has alway worked for me.
Samantha says
Great idea!! Thanks so much Robert!
I_Fortuna says
I completely agree that So. California has the best Mexican food. We now live in Texas and if we want good Mexican food, we have to make it at home. We never had to before but Tex Mex is completely different and we don't consider it authentic traditional Mexican food like Hubby's mom made. As I write, hubby is preparing the rellenos. We use Monterey Jack and fill from the stem end (seeds and stem removed) With each Mexican family there are slight variations. We don't shred our cheesse. Instead we cut thick sticks to stuff inside the pepper. We make tamales and carnitas, refried beans and many other delicious Mexican dishes. I make our own red enchilada sauce at home from scratch and hubby does not like any other. Spoiled? YES !! We live in a small town and there is only one Mexican restaurant that is marginally acceptable for us. If you live in Southern California, consider yourself blessed. I visited this site because I wanted to see how you made your red sauce. Thanks for posting real Mexican food!
Samantha says
You comment made my day! I LOVE that you make your own enchilada sauce..I still have yet to do that!I will try your suggestion with monterey jack next time I make it, which should be soon since I haven't in quite a long time and I know my husband would like this for his birthday soon! Thank you so much for commenting and following my blog!
Brandie @ Home Cooking Memories says
You are so right about CA Mexican food! When we moved East from CA for a few years, it just wasn't the same. I love chile rellenos...I admire anyone who makes them at home!
Sunithi says
Sam I'm not sure whether I like that sexy pic of your or the dish with the blue napkin better !! Both I think. Awesome dish and I am stealing that napkin. If it disappears , you know here it went 😉
Carla says
I've never been to Cancun so I won't laugh (too much 😉 LOL Never had Chile Rellenos before either. Maybe I need to make these then go to Cancun!
Sarah says
What does Joe do at the restaurant? Is he a chef or a sommelier? I love the photo of you on the horse! how fun. We'll be in Cancun for our wedding next fall. This will be my second time in Cancun. I loved visiting Chichen Itza too! We were there during the solstice and we got see the shadow moving like a snake. Love your dish!
Megan says
Love Chile Relleno's! Thanks for sharing and your photos are amazing!
Family Foodie says
I love when recipes are inspired by a vacation! hey that may make for a really fun #SundaySupper. Thanks for the inspiration.
Heather @girlichef says
Oh my gosh, these look absolutely mouthwatering. I love chiles rellenos, but haven't had them in far too long. Wish I could just reach in and grab one. Thanks so much for this amazing Fiesta addition!
veronic gantley says
This looks amazing I love Chilli Rellenos
Tammi @ Momma's Meals says
These look sooooooooooooooooooo delish!
Kim Bee says
I love this so much and the photo of you on horseback is fabulous. I've always wanted to ride on the beach.