Chipotle Chicken Chiles Rellenos

I'm an equal opportunity celebrator. With Cinco de Mayo (the Mexican and Mexican-American holiday celebrating the Mexican army's victory over France in a very difficult battle in Puebla, Mexico)  comes the chance to have a nice Mexican dinner. After a bit of deliberation, and asking friends via facebook, I was torn between enchiladas, fajitas and chiles rellenos - and then I saw an article about tacos that totally confused the issue even more. Lucky for El Syd that he has a lot of pull. Since he really wanted chiles rellenos, I settled on that for our meal. 

The thing is, making chiles rellenos is a real pain in the ass. You make your filling; you roast the peppers, then peel and de-seed them; stuff the peppers; make the batter, dip the stuffed peppers and then fry them...oh, and if you want to serve them with a sauce you need to make that too. Another hurdle is when you make them this way, you are really frying them one or two at a time. So, either you serve them as they are hot and ready and everyone eats in staggered intervals or you cook them all up and risk them being cooled off and perhaps even soggy. I've seen Chiles Rellenos casseroles in the past that feature the flavors of the stuffed peppers but somehow lose a certain something in the translation, that is, I don't want everything I eat to be cut into a square and served.

When I happened upon a version in Rebecca Rather's latest cookbook, I knew I needed to test it out. In this version, the roasted chiles are stuffed and placed in a baking dish, the batter is spooned over and the whole thing is baked, then sauced and topped with cheese. Her version has a more traditional stuffing (sort of a picadillo - ground meat, potatoes, raisins and nuts) which is not my favorite thing. Instead, I substituted my go-to chipotle chicken filling (which is great in enchiladas, or topping tostadas, etc.) If you wanted to try these but don't feel fully committed to making your own filling, you could substitute with some shredded rotisserie chicken meat or even just grated Monterrey Jack cheese.

Chipotle Chicken Chiles Rellenos (inspired by Rebecca Rather)

Filling: (makes about 3 cups or enough to fill 6 peppers with leftovers for another use)

• 2-3 chicken breasts (either boneless, skinless or bone-in, skin on), poached (reserve liquid for use in filling and ranchero sauce), cooled and shredded
• 6 oz fresh chorizo sausage (removed from casings)
• 1/2 C chopped onion
• 2-3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 2-3 chipotle peppers (left whole for less heat/spice or chopped for more)
• 2 Tbsp of adobo sauce from canned chipotles
• 1/3 C of chicken broth (reserved from poaching) 
• 1-1.5 C canned diced tomatoes

1. In a heavy 12in or larger skillet, crumble the chorizo and cook over low heat (do not brown). If you there is a lot of fat rendered off, strain off all but 3 Tbsp. Add onion and garlic and cook over moderate hat, stirring until onions are wilted and glassy. 
2. Add tomatoes, chipotles, and adobo sauce. Continue cooking on medium(stirring often) until all moisture has been absorbed (Sauce will be "tight") This will take about 15 minutes or so. 
3. Stir in shredded chicken and reserved broth and cook another 3-4 minutes to heat chicken thoroughly. (Filling can be made in advance and refrigerated for a day or so.)

Chiles:

• 6 large, smooth poblano chile peppers

1. Roast peppers over open flame or under broiler until skins are blistered, and charred.
2. Place roasted peppers in a plastic bag or paper sack and close up to allow the pepper to "sweat" which will help to loosen the skins.
3. Once peppers are cool enough to handle, pull blistered skins off and discard. Then, make a thin slit with a sharp knife starting near the stem and running down the length of the pepper being careful not to split the pepper open entirely. Remove seeds and veins.
4. Stuff peppers with filling and place in a large enough baking dish to hold them in a single layer. (Peppers can be made to this point and refrigerated a day in advance)

Ranchero Sauce & Cheese Topping: 

• 1 C shredded Monterrey Jack cheese for topping

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 C diced onion
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, cored and seeded and coarsely chopped
• 4 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
• 1 Tsp salt
• 1 C dry white wine
• 1 C chicken broth (reserved from poaching chicken)
• 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes (could use Rotel or other with chiles for a little kick)

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic and bell peppers until the onion is soft (about 3 minutes or so). Add salt, wine, broth and tomatoes with their juices. Simmer over medium heat so that flavors can meld but not so long that the celery gets soft (about 15 minutes.)

Batter:

• 6 large egg whites
• 1/4 C flour
• 1/2 Tsp baking powder
• 1/4 Tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/2 Tsp chili powder
• 1/2 Tsp garlic powder

1. Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks are formed.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, and beat until combined.
3. Spoon batter over the stuffed poblanos and bake at 375F for about 30 minutes (batter will be golden brown) 
4. Remove from the oven; top with ranchero sauce and shredded cheese and bake until the cheese is melty (about 5 minutes more). Serve warm.

I'll freely admit that this is a pretty ambitious dish and after writing this, it doesn't seem to be less of a pain in the ass. However,  it is not difficult.  It is a lot of steps and parts, but it is not difficult.  In this version there is no frying which, for me, is a big plus.  If you endeavor to make this at home,and it seems overwhelming, I'd recommend making the filling, ranchero sauce and roasting and stuffing the peppers in advance (like the day before) Then, just before serving, make the batter, spread it over the stuffed chiles and bake as directed (add about 10-15 minutes to the baking time due to the peppers being refrigerated.)

Trust me on this point, the results are well worth it. It is amazingly delicious and the best thing is that once it is put together, everyone can sit down to eat at the same time which is sort of the point of a family dinner, no?

Happy Cooking!

 sld

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