These are far from authentic, but I sure do like them.
My first apartment when I was seventeen was a super place. Exploring the neighborhood, I discovered a Mexican restaurant nearby. I had no idea what anything on the menu was. I didn't know the difference between a tortilla and a burrito so I ordered things without knowing what I would get. Chile relleno was one of the last things I tried. They prepared them this way with egg roll wrappers. It's entirely wrong, but I didn't know that. It's what I learned first so it's what I thought chile rellenos were. They became my favorite things with their red chile sauce and smothered in onions and tomato and lettuce. Later when I had authentic rellenos with a fresh egg coating it came as a surprise. I didn't care for them as much and it took awhile to acquire a taste for them.
For real rellenos you'l want to use fresh poblano chiles and roast the skins off them and de-seed them. Fill with a Mexican cheese. One approach for the coating is to separate eggs, beat the whites, mix in the yolks. (I would be inclined to prepare a batter.) Flavor however you wish. Dust the chiles with flour and coat with the egg and then shallow fry.
These are much simpler. I didn't bother tonight with a sauce. My only regret is these chiles are mild. They have great flavor, but they need to be enhanced with another chile type for capsicum heat.
Wedges of cheese are cut from this block and inserted into the chiles. It melts wonderfully and stretches ridiculously like mozzarella.
The name Queso Quesadilla doesn't even make sense. Cheese little cheese things. (¿)
Here we have the collision of Asia and Central America. I use the won ton version of these wrappers along with diced jalapeños for hors d'œuvre poppers. Modern life is wonderful innit.
The cheese is stuffed inside the chile.
If the cheese leaks when it melts you'll hear it in the oil. Remove immediately, they'll be done anyway and it makes a huge and dangerous mess if left in. It cannot always be avoided even with complete sealing.
These things are great. Since I have the egg roll wrappers opened, and the pound tin of chiles also opened, I'll undoubtedly be having these over the next few days. Maybe I'll make up a batch and freeze them.
It looks like an improvement over the original to me because the wrap isn't as heavy (less breading to soak up the oil). And it's sturdier so you can eat it with your fingers if so inclined, and it would work in a lunch box.
ReplyDeleteA local Mexican place makes a burrito with a chili relleno inside, along with the usual sour cream and refried beans. Instant overloaded cholesterol heart attack. Unfortunately the flour tortilla around the burrito and the batter coating on the chili give it too much starch/bread.
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