That’s right, hombres. A chile relleno made into a burrito. If you’ve ever tried a chile relleno at a Mexican restaurant, imagine how amazing it could be if you could eat it in burrito form. New Mexicans have already had this epiphany and have created the most wonderful and simply scrumptious hand-held masterpiece known to man-kind, and I’m here to share it with you.
To start, if you have never had a chile relleno it’s a roasted and peeled green chile that’s been stuffed to the brim with cheese, wrapped around a wonderfully light batter, and pan-fried until golden and slightly crispy around the surface. You’d normally see it at a restaurant served with some green chile sauce smothered over the top and more cheese. If you were at my house, you’d normally see me dropping them into my mouth right out of the pan like you’d drop a fish into a dolphin’s mouth. They’re that good.
But could you imagine it in burrito form? Seriously, though.
I’m going to stop talking because my mouth is watering and I’m ready to get cookin’. So let’s go!
After separating your eggs, you’re going to whip the whites until stiff peaks form and whip the yolks with some baking powder until pale yellow. Then, you’re going to gently fold the whites into the yolks.
Keep folding until it looks like a happy, light and fluffy batter.
Next, get your green chile prepped (see recipe for how to do this) and stuff those bad boys with some cheese. Don’t worry if your chile isn’t perfectly split in half. You can see in the picture that mine are split all over the place but once you cover it in batter, everything will hold together.
Set up an assembly line with your stuffed chiles, your egg batter and a bowl of flour. lightly coat your chile in flour and then transfer into the egg batter. Then, carefully place it down into a pan filled with a shallow amount of cooking oil. Fry the chile on both sides for about 3 – 5 minutes per side until it’s golden brown.
Cover your warmed tortilla with a layer of refried beans, and nestle the chile, stem and all, on top.
Roll the tortilla by folding the bottom only, where the stem should be, and leaving the top open. This way you can dive right in and when you get to the bottom, you know when to quit. Or you can power right through and eat the stem. I’ve done both.
It looks simple. It is simple. Sometimes the most delicious things in this world are delicious because they are so simple. Say simple ten times fast now.
I hope you guys enjoy! Let me know if you have tried this out or if you’ve ever gotten your hands on a chile rellenos burrito before. We’re an elite group of people who know how to enjoy the simple things in life.
Recipe
- 6 – 7 green chiles, roasted and peeled
- 2 eggs, separated
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 (8 or 16 oz) block of cheese of choice (Asadero, pepper jack, cheddar, mozzarella – it doesn’t matter as long as it is a firm cheese).
- 1/2 cup or so of flour
- 1 cup or so of vegitable oil or crisco, for frying.
To assemble:
- To roast and peel green chiles, simply place your fresh chiles on a baking sheet and place under the broiler of your oven, turning every 3 minutes or so to get it completely charred on all sides. Once charred, place peppers in a plastic bag to sweat for about 15 – 30 min. Then, take each chile out (careful, they might be hot still) and simply peel the skin off. Doing this under water helps a lot.
- To seed the chile, take your knife and – carefully – cut from the bottom up until you have a slit going through one side of the chile, stopping just under the base of the stem and leaving the stem in tact. Carefully try to discard as many seeds as you can. Doing this part under running water helps a lot.
- Place your prepped chiles on a kitchen towel or paper towels to retain the moisture.
- Take your cheese of choice and cut it into long rectangular strips (you see cubes in my photos because that’s what I had in my fridge – which works just fine). Place the strip of cheese inside of the chile.
- While the chiles rest, place your egg yolks into a bowl and beat with the baking powder until pale yellow or until combined.
- Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
- Transfer egg whites into yolk mixture and gently fold until combined.
- Place flour into a separate shallow bowl or dish.
- Lightly dredge the chile in flour, getting rid of excess by lightly shaking it. Then, place chile in egg batter and, holding the stem, use a spoon or your fingers to work the batter all around the chile (this helps you not drop the cheese out of the chile).
- Carefully hold the chile seam-side-up and place it into the hot oil. Fry the chile on the first side until it is golden, about 3 – 5 minutes. Carefully flip over with a fork or spatula and cook other side until golden.
- Warm 6 – 7 tortillas in microwave for 30 – 45 seconds.
- Spread an even layer of warm refried beans (homemade or canned, it doesn’t matter) and place the chile on top.
- To fold the tortilla just tuck the bottom of it, where the stem is, and roll to close, leaving the top open.
- Enjoy warm or wrap with foil and refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.