Being a fan of Mexican food, Chile Rellenos have always intrigued me. One of my best meals ever, was a roasted vegetable stuffed Chile Relleno. However, many times I order them in restaurants, I find them to be thickly coated and greasy. I love the smokey taste of poblano peppers but want to enjoy them in a dish that is a bit healthier. Searching the internet, I came across a recipe at Serious Eats for a baked version that I adapted and created into a small plates portion.
One of the tedious tasks in creating stuffed chiles is getting their skin off. I have tried doing it on the grill, under the broiler and this time I torched them with my chef’s torch. It was a quick process and made it much easier to skin the chiles. I cut the poblano’s in half and stemmed as well as seeded them to create boats for my filling.
Using Talley Farms fresh corn in my filling, really elevated the flavor of the chile’s. So sweet and tender, sautéed with some onion and garlic, the mixture was super yummy! You can adapt this recipe a number of ways with different vegetable combinations. Rather than a standard cheese filled chile relleno, adding vegetables makes them more interesting, healthy and delish!
Baked Open-Faced Chile Rellenos
Serves 8
- 4 poblano chiles
- 2 ears of fresh corn
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
- 4 tablespoons Mexican crema
- toothpicks for stuffing
- Using either a kitchen torch or the broiler (on high), blacken the poblano peppers until black on all sides. Place them in a sealed plastic bag or glass bowl with cellophane to cover and let sit for 5-10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove the skins, stem and seeds and and cut each pepper in half lengthwise.
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- To prepare the corn, microwave them fully intact together for 4 1/2 minutes on high. Cut them completely through at the thickest part of the ear on the root end. Using a towel or pot holder, hold the ear from the top end of husk and shake gently to release the ear completely clean of silk and husk. Use a sharp knife to cut the kernels off the corn cobs. (I do it by placing one end into the center of a bundt pan so that the kernels all fall into the pan)
- Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Then add the corn kernels and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Place your chile halves on a parchment covered baking sheet with the insides facing up. Layer each chile with a scant 1/4 cup of the corn mixture, 1/8 cup of shredded cheese and 1/2 tablespoon of the crema. Use toothpicks to pull up the sides and hold the chile’s together. Top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake the chile’s in the oven for 10 minutes and then turn the broiler on to toast the tops for about 2-3 minutes until golden. Watch them closely as broiler’s vary.
- Serve immediately.
Note
- If you really want to dazzle your guests, serve your chile relleno starter with a cup of my Creamy Jalapeño Soup. I used the extra corn mixture leftover from the chiles as a garnish in the soup and it was amazing!
(click here) for printable recipe