This post will help you turn your Anaheim and poblano peppers into tasty chili rellenos.  Just like you get at the great Mexican place downtown!

Anaheim – A Great Chili Relleno!

Anaheims are a relatively new addition to the garden.  They are very heavy producers, and are mildly hot.  I put them in salsa, and have stuffed them like banana peppers.  However, the best use for them is making chili rellenoes.  It is a bit complex, but the payoff is great.

Pick ‘Em

Pick about 12 of them.  I have four plants, and they can make about 12 full-sized peppers a week.  So this is a good thing to make on the weekends when you have some time.  I also had a poblano pepper plant that did not bear a lot of fruit, so I put it in there with the Anaheims.

Roast ‘Em

Put them on your grill and keep turning them so that the skin gets blistered.

Put ‘Em in a Ziploc Bag

Putting the hot peppers in a ziploc bag to cool will make them much easier to peel.

Peel and Clean ‘Em

Wait until they’ve cooled down a bit or you’ll burn your fingers. Get most of the skin off of them if you can.  Then take your thumbnail and gently open one side of the pepper length-wise.  Carefully clean out the seeds and the membranes.  When you’re done, you will have a dozen slimy peppers with the stems still on them, waiting to be stuffed.

Stuff ‘Em

I like to put cheese in mine.  Sharp cheddar and colby.  Slice the cheese into sticks that are about a quarter-inch square, and a little shorter than the peppers.  Put one stick in small peppers, and two in bigger ones.  My wife Denise came up with a good idea to keep the fragile peppers together for the trip into the frying pan.  She puts toothpicks through the side of the pepper, through the cheese, and out the other side of the pepper.  This seems to work very well.  Just watch you don’t eat the toothpick.  Sprinkle a little flour on the finished peppers, and prepare the batter for frying.

Batter and Fry ‘Em

In a small bowl, separate out about four eggs from the yolks.  Add a tablespoon of flour, and whisk them until fluffy.  Mix in the yolks, and you are ready to go.  Holding the peppers by the stem, dip them in the batter, then place them into a frying pan with hot oil.  Let them fry until brown, turning them once.

Chow Down

You can then bake them with sauce, but we like to eat them right out of the pan.  Let the peppers cool a bit on some paper towels to reduce the oil.  Then with a little salsa on the side, chow down.  Denise and I can polish off a dozen of these in no time.  The peppers are soft and just a little bit spicy.  The cheese is perfectly melted, and the whole thing is just delicious.

Day Tripping (and Gardening and Cooking) with Rick