Hola, mi amigos! You can't go to a single Mexican restaurant anywhere in the world today without seeing a chile relleno on the menu. Roasted poblano peppers stuffed with cheese and ground beef dipped in an egg batter and deep fried to perfection, chile rellenos are typically enjoyed by all. The biggest downside of this delicious dish is the individual labor and attention each one requires making them somewhat of a hassle for any home cook to prepare and enjoy. Today's recipe, Chile Relleno Casserole, reimagines this classic dish and takes away a lot of the extra work making it perfect for a weeknight home cooked meal! That being said, this recipe still requires some extra effort compared to others so sit back and relax as I walk you through this gringo conception...Let's Get Cooking!
We will begin by knocking out the tedious task of roasting and preparing the poblano peppers. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with some aluminum foil. Coat the foil with some nonstick spray and place the peppers accordingly. Once your oven is preheated to the Pits of Hell Hot, stick the tray in for 20 to 25 minutes until the poblano skins begin to bubble and char. Be sure to watch the peppers and flip them about halfway through so all sides are evenly charred and blistered. You can speed up this process by using a torch on each pepper or simply laying them on your gas stove top and letting the flames gently char each side. No matter how you choose to roast your peppers, they should look somewhat like the pics below from start to finish.
Once your peppers have charred, immediately place them in a glass bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap to seal in the heat and moisture. This sealed environment is crucial for the skins to separate from the pepper's main flesh. This process should take about 15 minutes while the poblano's cool down from their fiery spa treatment.
While the peppers are cooling, you can move on to the next step of creating the ground beef filling. However, for the purpose of this walk through, we will just wait the 15 minutes out and enjoy a nice cold Modelo or Corona! Ok, fast-forward a few sips and we can now remove the peppers and begin to peel the charred skins. The easiest way to do this is simply to use a paper towel or kitchen rag and gently rub the peppers from the tops down to the bottom tips. If you properly blistered and rested the peppers, the skin will slide off with ease leaving a much brighter green, soft flesh behind. Slice the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. You can rinse them if you wish to get all the seeds off or let a few slip and not fret about it. Poblanos are fairly low on the heat scale so some seeds won't change the flavor profile like a jalapeno or serrano might. Of course, I'm a complete bonehead and forgot to take a picture of this step, so I'll reuse a pic from later to show what you are essentially supposed to end up with after peeling your peppers.
Now let's get to that tasty filling that makes this recipe so delicioso! Brown your ground beef in a large pan over medium-high heat with some Worcestershire sauce. As always, be sure to also season the beef with some salt and pepper and allow it to cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until no longer rare. A little pink is okay as we will continue to cook this mixture in the pan and later bake it so just try not to overcook it at this point.
When the beef is mostly browned, add a finely diced onion and continue to sauté everything for a couple more minutes. You can use a red or white/yellow onion, so don't worry too much and use what you have on hand in your pantry. Then, add some minced garlic and continue to cook for about a minute or so until it becomes fragrant. While the beef finishes cooking, season with some red pepper flakes and cumin to really start incorporating those Latin/Mexican flavors. Depending on which fat ratio of ground beef you used, you may need to drain any excess grease at this point.
Now that our ground beef mixture is done, we can move on to assembling this layered casserole. Like you have already seen, line the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with a layer of roasted poblano peppers. Be sure to give it a good coating of nonstick spray first, of course. Top the peppers with about a cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese, half of the ground beef mixture, a cup of Pepper Jack Cheese, and 3/4 cup of cheddar. Repeat this process once more creating a second full layer with the remaining ingredients. Be sure to reserve about half to 3/4 cup of the shredded Cheddar for later.
In order to keep some of the original chile relleno character, we need to create a bit of a fried egg batter topping for our casserole. In a mixing bowl, combine some heavy cream, eggs, and AP Flour and whisk until thoroughly incorporated.
Pour this mixture over the entire casserole. It will seep through the first few layers somewhat, but leave a noticeable coating over the top of the baking dish. Your oven still should be fairly hot from roasting the peppers so lower the temperature down to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the casserole, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes. After the initial bake time is up, sprinkle the remaining shredded cheddar over the top of the casserole and continue to bake it for an additional 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and browned. Of course, I must have been keeping the trend this day of forgetting pictures, so when it's all said and done, your final serving product will resemble the serving below.
It was a little bit of work and few forgotten photos, but that wraps up this reimagined chile relleno in casserole form. What do you think? Will this new take on a classic dish end up on your dinner table soon? It's hearty, filling, and quite delicious so your entire family will be ecstatic with this one! Take notes and be prepared to make it again when they gobble this one down and demand more. Since it does take a bit of extra effort, you can assemble this one on a lazy Sunday evening and have it ready for the oven later during the week. This Chile Relleno Casserole may just become a standard classic in your home kitchen, so don't be afraid to try something new and seemingly daunting....Just Keep Cooking!
CHILE RELLENO CASSEROLE
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