Chiles Rellenos

For me, there is no better signature dish then great Chiles Rellenos to bring Mexican cuisine to its rightful place. When served with a tomatillo sauce it is a marriage made in heaven.

Make a tomatillo sauce that is needed to serve these.

4 Large poblano chilies

Small brick of Monterey Jack cheese

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 eggs, separated and beaten

Salt to season the flour

2 Tablespoons of lard and a cup of corn oil.

Chopped cilantro for garnish

Preheat oven to 450F. Roast chilies on cookie sheet until skin is brown and blistered on all sides. Keep oven door closed to retain heat after removing toasted chilies. Cool until you are able to touch peppers, and then peel off skin. Make a slit down one side of the pepper in preparation of stuffing with cheese. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, cut a slice of cheese shaped to fit each chile cavity. Leave seeds and stems on.

Cover a plate with tin foil. Put flour on the plate. Separate the eggs beat the yolks until pale. Wash whisk and dry thoroughly. Do not whisk the whites until ready to cook the rellenos.

Warm the tomatillo sauce on low. In a large frying pan, add oil, lard, and begin to heat. Whisk the whites to stiff peaks; mix half the whites into the yolks. The gentle fold in rest of whites. It is not necessary to make a uniform mixture. The oil should be hot. Dip two chilies in the flour and then, into the egg batter. Fry each chile not touching each other. Spoon the hot oil over the tops and edges. The turn over with 2 forks. Cook remaining chiles retaining the cooked rellenos warm on a paper-towel-covered plate in the warm oven. Spoon tomatillo sauce over plated rellenos and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Notes:
1. Adding a bit of flour to the egg yolks will stabilize the mixture of yolks and eggs whites if doing the rellenos in batches. The flour lessens the "airyness" of the resulting finished result. In many recipes, only egg whites are used making the result less "eggy".