Ospidillo Cafe Chile Rellenos

from Patrick W. Crabtree in Lucasville, OH

This is my very best recipe. I conducted a LOT of research and experimentation to achieve this one, much of which involved eating chilis rellenos at Mexican restaurants all over the country and, subsequently conducting friendly interrogations of Mexican chefs and waiters. The result I achieved culminated in chilis rellenos that I like even better than the ones that I warfed down at all of those great restaurants. It looks complicated but if you get your stuff laid out in advance it goes very fast and smoothly. I ended up using fresh (heirloom) Anaheim peppers because that's what I raise in my garden but you can use Poblanos with equal success. I did cheat a bit on the batter coating for the peppers by using the tempura batter mix (an Asian product), and here's why: having reviewed many batter recipes for chilis rellenos, I discovered that the base ingredients compared very closely with those of the commercial tempura batter mix ingredients. The more important point, though, is that tempura batter is very easy to use, tastes great, and adheres incredibly well to the peppers during the frying process. I should also add that the Ranchera Sauce is a major feature of this recipe and it can be used with equal versatility on your own enchiladas and/or over huevos rancheros. I hope you enjoy these chilis rellenos as much as my friends, family, and me!

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon salted butter
2 serrano peppers, (canned or fresh), diced, w/seeds
2 chipotle peppers, (canned in adobo sauce), diced, with a little sauce
1 medium onion, diced
3 tablespoons Wondra flour, (can go 4 tablespoons if necessary)
15 ounces chicken broth, (canned)
6 ounces tomato sauce
5 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar or honey
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2 cups tempura batter mix, (I use Hime brand)
1-1/2 cups water, ICE COLD
12 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded, then brought to room temperature
20 ounces corn oil
6 large Anaheim chili peppers, fresh


Method:
1. Make the sauce. This can be done 1-2 days in advance, reheated the sauce just prior to making the Chile Rellenos.

2. In a large skillet, saute the onions, the serrano peppers, and the chipotle peppers over medium-high heat in the melted butter and olive oil.

3. Just as the onion is beginning to slightly brown, sprinkle the Wondra flour over it and allow to saute for about 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally -- the onions/peppers should be fairly dry at the end of this process.

4. Slowly add the chicken broth to deglaze and whisk into a gravy. Add the chile powder, sugar and salt.

5. When the mix begins to boil, add the tomato sauce and whisk.

6. When the mix re-boils for a second time, reduce heat.

7. (You can add additional chicken broth and whisk over low heat at this point to achieve desired thickness.) Set aside or, refrigerate the sauce if you aren't making the Chile Rellenos right away.

8. Now, prepare the peppers: place the fresh Anaheim peppers in an ungreased 9-inch x 13-inch casserole dish and place them under the oven broiler (HIGH setting, if you have one), using the top rack. The objective is to char the peppers so that the skins become mostly blackened.

9. Keep a close eye on the peppers under the broiler. As they blacken, you will hear them make popping sounds. Once they are pretty much charred on one side (some will be moreso than others), remove the dish and turn the peppers. Place them back under the broiler until the second side is charred.

10. Once the peppers are pretty well charred, remove them from the oven and immediately wrap each one in a damp paper towel, which will serve to loosen the charred skin.

11. After five minutes or so, remove the paper towels and pull the skin from each pepper with your fingers, or use a paring knife to gently scrape off the skin. Do not be concerned if some skin remains attached -- this does not affect the quality of the dish. Repeat until all the peppers are pretty much skinned clean.

12. Now is the best time to pour your corn oil into a large skillet and allow it to heat to 375-degrees F. on the stovetop. (I just flip a few drops of water into the oil and when it "crackles" pretty loud without popping all over the place, the oil is hot enough to use).

13. Back to the peppers, carefully cut a slit into each skinned pepper from about 1-inch from the tip to fairly close to the stem. Then, cut in a small perpendicular cut on the stem end to form an enlongated "T". Carefully remove as many seeds as possible from each pepper.

14. Once the peppers are de-seeded, gently stuff them with the shredded, room-temperature Monterey Jack cheese. When finished, each pepper should appear close to its original girth -- you do not want them to gape open at the seam. Set them aside for the moment.

15. Next, prepare the tempura batter by pouring 1-1/2 cups of ICE COLD water into a mixing bowl (or into the bowl of your Kitchen Aide mixer with whisk attachment) and begin running the beater or blender as your pour in the tempura batter mix. Blend only just until any large lumps have disappeared (10-20 seconds). Don't worry about small lumps. (You could also blend this by hand, with a whisk, if you don't have a mixer).

16. Cradle each pepper in your fingers, as not to open the seam, and submerge it into the batter, coating as evenly as possible, (this is a messy operation!).

17. As each pepper is battered, place it directly into the HOT oil in the skillet, seam side DOWN. Do not crowd the peppers -- I like to fry no more than 3 at one time or it will drive your oil temperature down too low.

18. Turn each pepper one time so that both sides end up a light golden brown, (the seam will be sealed shut at this point), which takes about 3-5 minutes per side.

19. Plate the fried peppers directly from the skillet on to pre-warmed serving platters/plates. Two peppers make a large serving. Generously pour heated Ranchera sauce over each of the plated peppers.

20. Topping with additional cheese is optional. Serve with Mexican rice as a side dish.