Cooking with Chef Johnny Vee: Chile Rellenos

Learn to make chile rellenos in this video, the first of a series hosted by Chef John Vollertsen. See the video and tell a friend.


CHILE RELLENOS
(Serves 6)

8 ounces cold sharp Cheddar cheese
6 large whole New Mexico green chiles, roasted and peeled
1 batch beer or blue corn-buttermilk batter (recipes follow)
3 cups vegetable oil for frying
1 batch red chile sauce (recipe follows)
Optional: Sprigs of fresh cilantro and sour cream or crema thinned slightly and poured into a squeeze bottle for decorating plates


Cut cold cheese into matchstick-size pieces, 2 inches long by 1/8-inch square. Cut a tiny slit toward the top of the roasted, peeled chile and carefully slide in pieces of the cheese until the chile is filled with cheese. (Handle with care so you won't tear the chile.)

Drain stuffed chiles on paper towels before dipping in batter. Heat oil to 350 degrees. Dip chiles, one at a time, into batter and carefully slide them into the hot oil, be careful not to overcrowd the pot. Once they are golden brown, turn the chiles over and fry the other side. The second side will brown more quickly. Keep warm in oven until all chiles are fried. Drain fried chiles on paper towels.

Make a pool of red chile sauce on each plate and top with a fried chile. If you like, you can use the sour cream to make a decorative squiggle on the red chile sauce, and top the relleno with a sprig of fresh cilantro.

***

BEER BATTER
3/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, toasted
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
1 cup beer, any brand as long as it's not dark

Combine flour, cornstarch, salt, cumin and cayenne in medium bowl.

Measure beer into tilted measuring cup to be sure you have 1 cup liquid under the foam. Stir beer and foam into the bowl of dry ingredients and whisk batter until smooth.

Allow batter to rest 20 minutes before using.

If a thinner batter is desired, add a small amount of additional beer.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Cooking
• chile
• relleno
• santa
• fe
• new
• mexico
• johnny
• vee
• vollertsen

[rhart1964]

What kind of cheese do you use?

Great job, thanks!

[sfnmwebed]

It's white cheddar

[jimmydidit23]

I'm from New Mexico, my family has been here over 300 years...this is all wrong! This is a nice attempt if you were serving this dish in New York, in some fusion resturant but here in the southwest it is blasphemy!

[jsumudio]

@Nekrosculptor Nobody cares.

[watsonvillian]

@Nekrosculptor I know a lot of mexican's who can't cook. Put up a better video or pipe down.

[TheMrpalid]

wait, you didn't take the stem and seeds out?

[ajgils]

FTP



[tjbollman1]

Great job with your instruction! They look better than any I have ever seen. Thanks!

[LazarusEinstein]

Johnny Vee just became one of my new favorite chefs! Cool video, I really want to try this yo. Peace.

~LE, Cali

[signingupisretarded]

@JJx7894 Those are anaheim's; very common in the US southwest with Hatch NM being a well known growing area. The chilies you are probably thinking about are poblano's.

[signingupisretarded]

@Nekrosculptor He stuffed a chili. Quite literally that's all you need to do to have "chili relleno".

[3Storm]

This is a great variation to Chiles Rellenos. The recipe varies from state to state in Mexico some filled with fresh cheese some with meat etc.

I usually use a Poblano pepper.