Chile Rellenos

As you might suspect, Mo is very fond of Mexican cuisine (the spicier the better in her book) and I still have very happy memories of eight scorching days in the Yucatan during 2004. The end result is a proper Mexican cookery course which we love teaching – no Tex-Mex but lots of simple, easy to prepare dishes, based on beans, corn, tomatoes, chocolate and avocadoes. During our research there was one traditional vegetarian dish we came across (which is quite unusual in Mexico!) so we have included it here. It is spectacularly unhealthy, but quite delicious and best eaten using fingers.

Ingredients

6 poblano chillies or dried ancho chillies

300g mature cheddar cheese, cut into wedges

2 large eggs

1 tbsp plain flour

salt and pepper

vegetable oil for frying

Salsa

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp vegetable oil

6 large vine tomatoes

1 medium onion, peeled, cut into 4

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 jalapeno pepper (optional)

1 tsp sweet or hot smoked paprika or chipotle sauce

2 tsp Mexican oregano (Italian will do if necessary) 

2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

Serves 2-3

To make the salsa pop the tomatoes, onions, garlic and jalapeno (if using) into a sauce pan, cover with water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Drain, blend and then do the boring bit - sieve the mixture into a bowl. Mix in the paprika or chipotle powder, oregano and coriander, season to taste.

This is the point at which you decide how much heat you want…. chipotle is a wonderful way of boosting heat but be careful it has an evil kick that creeps up on you. If you can’t find chipotle en adobe at your local deli, it’s easy to order from The Cool Chile Company (along with the anchos!)

Then heat the oil in a frying pan and toast the cumin seeds until they release their aroma, before adding the tomato mixture. Cook for 5 minutes and set aside to cool.

To deal with the chillies make a small incision at the top of each chilli, place on a rack and grill until charred all over. Throw into a bowl, cover with cling film and when cool enough to handle remove the skin. Or, if you are using dried anchos just rehydrate with boiling water in a large bowl for several hours; then drain, dry and cut a slice down the side of the chilli

Carefully stuff the chillies with the cheese in the incision, secure with a cocktail stick if needed. To make the batter separate the eggs and whisk the whites until stiff, mix the flour into the egg yolks, season with a little salt then mix into the whites.

When you are ready to eat dip the chillies into the egg batter and shallow fry until golden on both sides. Serve with the tomato sauce (and sour cream as well if you fancy a dairy overdose – tho it can help cool down the heat…)