Cooking with Luz: Chile Rellenos

Recently I help Lucy while she was teaching a small class of ladies how to make chile rellenos. I don't believe I helped so much as got in the way. But I tried to be helpful. I took "notes" in the form of photos (which is why I was kind of in the way). Here's the process:


First you need medium sized poblano chiles from the store. Then you must roast them until the skin is charred and black. You can do this by putting them directly over the burner's flame of a gas stove, or by broiling them in the oven, being sure to turn them as needed so they blacken all over.

Once they are done blackening, put them in a zip-lock bag for a few minutes to let the moisture condense so that the blackened skin can easily be peeled off. 

After you've peeled the chile, slice it open on one side and remove the seeds and fibrous interior. Then it is ready to be filled. Lucy filled these particular ones with three kinds of cheese: Muenster, Mozzarella and Queso Fresco.

After filling the chile, fold the opening closed and roll or pat the outside with flour. Let it sit while you make the rest of the coating.

You'll need one egg per chile for this part. Separate the egg yolk(s) from the white(s). Mix the white(s) until stiff peaks form. Then whisk in the yolk(s).

Dip the flour covered chile into the egg mixture and put it immediately into a pan with HOT oil. You can either gently turn the chile over once the bottom side has browned or you can do as Luzy did and spoon hot oil over the top of the chile while it fries.

 Repeat this process for each chile. 

 Serve immediately alongside rice and refried beans.

Lucy also showed us another version of this:

She quickly made a sauce out of boiled tomatoes. She put these into a blender with some salt, garlic and some cilantro.

Then she took one of the chiles that had completed the frying process and spooned this red sauce over it, drizzled some cream on the sauce and then sprinkled it with shredded cheese.