Cooking with Chef Johnny Vee: Blue Corn Chile Relleno Bonus Video

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Comment by eTaste on August 20, 2008 at 10:15am

CHILE RELLENOS
(Serves 6)

8 ounces cold sharp Cheddar cheese
6 large whole New Mexico green chiles, roasted and peeled
1 batch beer or blue corn-buttermilk batter (recipes follow)
3 cups vegetable oil for frying
1 batch red chile sauce (recipe follows)
Optional: Sprigs of fresh cilantro and sour cream or crema thinned slightly and poured into a squeeze bottle for decorating plates


Cut cold cheese into matchstick-size pieces, 2 inches long by 1/8-inch square. Cut a tiny slit toward the top of the roasted, peeled chile and carefully slide in pieces of the cheese until the chile is filled with cheese. (Handle with care so you won't tear the chile.)

Drain stuffed chiles on paper towels before dipping in batter. Heat oil to 350 degrees. Dip chiles, one at a time, into batter and carefully slide them into the hot oil, be careful not to overcrowd the pot. Once they are golden brown, turn the chiles over and fry the other side. The second side will brown more quickly. Keep warm in oven until all chiles are fried. Drain fried chiles on paper towels.

Make a pool of red chile sauce on each plate and top with a fried chile. If you like, you can use the sour cream to make a decorative squiggle on the red chile sauce, and top the relleno with a sprig of fresh cilantro.

BLUE CORN-BUTTERMILK BATTER
1 cup blue cornmeal
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
About 1-1/4 cups buttermilk
2 eggs


Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

Whisk together buttermilk and eggs in a small bowl, then add to dry ingredients.

Mix to make a smooth batter, adding more buttermilk if necessary. Batter should be the consistency of pancake batter.

Allow to rest for 10 minutes before using.

***

RED CHILE SAUCE
(Makes about 2-3/4 cups)

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup mild ground red chile
1 tablespoon ground ancho chile powder
1/4 cup hot ground red chile
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2-3/4 cups vegetable, beef or chicken stock*
1 teaspoon salt


Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until roux turns golden yellow, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat in stir in all three ground chiles. Return pan to heat and whisk in garlic, oregano, cumin and stock. Reduce heat to low.

Allow sauce to simmer for 10 minutes and season with salt.

(Red chile sauce freezes well.)

*Note: Use vegetable stock to make the chile rellenos vegetarian. Choose chicken stock for general use, or if you will be serving the sauce with a chicken dish. Beef stock is a good match for beef dishes, such as enchiladas.