Deconstructed Chili Rellenos Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:

6 to 8 Poblano Peppers (or other mild peppers)

3 or 4 eggs, beaten

12 Oz. or more Monterey Jack cheese (or Pepper Jack for the adventurous)

7 corn tortillas

4 Tablespoons Olive Oil (or spray cooking vegetable oil)

Red and/or Green Salsa (or Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce if you are real heat tolerant)

Salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste

Grated Parmesan Cheese (optional) to garnish the top

Method:

Roast the peppers and remove the charred skin. (See previous instructions) You don’t have to get every bit off, it adds to the flavor.

Remove the stem and slice open the peppers. Remove the seeds and ribs; these are the source of most of the heat.  Poblanos can vary quite a bit in their Scoville heat index units.  Taste a piece of your peppers from near the stem side in order to gauge how spicy it will be, and adjust your ingredients accordingly. Fold the peppers open. If still very crisp, microwave or boil for a few minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using half the olive oil, or cooking spray, generously oil a one quart casserole dish.

Place a layer of Tortillas on the bottom of the dish.

Place in layers the peppers, cheese and egg mixture until you are out of peppers. Spice each layer to taste.

Cover the top with tortillas. Spread the remaining olive oil on the tortillas, or use cooking oil spray.

Cover the top layer of tortillas with salsa of choice.  I like to use two different small cans of Herdez salsa, placing verde on one side and ranchera on the other.

Garnish with parmesan cheese.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake until the casserole is hot and bubbling, about 5 more minutes.

Serves 4.

How to roast and peel Poblano or Chili Peppers quickly

Roasting Chili Peppers for Chili Rellenos has always been a time consuming, labor intensive chore with inconsistent results.  I have tried charcoal grilling, broiling in the oven, using the flame on my gas stove, and my turkey fryer burner. The results tend to be uneven, especially in deeply creased peppers.

One day as I was preparing to make Rellenos, I spotted my propane torch.  Could it work? I grasped a pepper with tongs, lit the torch (mine uses MAP gas), and aimed it at the pepper. The results were almost instantaneous.  The skin blacked and popped, and in no time it was done.  I was able to achieve an even char, even into the crevasses.

I did notice that this method works so fast that very little softening and cooking of the pepper occurs.  This is fine if you want extra firm rellenos, but I find them to end up a bit raw after the usual cooking times.  In addition, while you can char the peppers very quickly with the torch flame, I have found it best to hold the flame a bit farther away from the pepper and take a bit more time.  This seems to make rubbing the skin off easier.

Most recipes call for placing the just roasted peppers in a plastic bag for 15 minutes to facilitate the skinning process.  I find I just end up with a melted bag.  I place the peppers in a large, microwave safe bowl after roasting.  I then add a bit of water and cover the bowl, and microwave it for a few minutes (be careful, microwave time varies). I then let the peppers sit in the covered bowl steaming for about 10 minutes without additional heat.  This softens the skin and the peppers.

If you want a healthy easy to prepare alternative to traditional deep fried Chili Rellenos, my wife and I have created a Deconstructed Chili Relleno Casserole. See next post.

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