Green Chile Season is still upon us! One of our favorite ways to use these spicy New Mexican treats is to simply stuff them and fry them. Remember, although we love to use Hatch Green Chiles, this recipe will work with any of your favorite peppers! Below, we’ve also included our Chile Cheese Fritter recipe that you can make with leftover batter. You can also make them anytime you want, using this recipe here.
Ingredients
8 large green chiles, roasted, peeled, and seeded with stems left on
3/4 cup dry chickpea flour for coating the Rellenos before dipping in the batter
Neutral tasting oil such as avocado for cooking
Batter
1 ½ cup chickpea flour
1 egg
1 ½ cup sparkling water or beer
1 teaspoon salt
Stuffing
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 pound ground beef, turkey, or shredded chicken
1 large onion
1 large clove garlic
6 ounces cheese, monterey jack or cheddar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preparation
Tip for working with Roasted chiles: Please use thin rubber gloves or touch the chiles as little as possible and wash your hands often. Chile oil will create a burning sensation on your hands. I use a fork and spatula to peel off the charred skin. To do this, place a roasted chile on a flat surface. Hold the stem with a fork and scrape the charred skin with the flat head of a spatula. Turn the chile over and repeat. The skin should tug off easily. If you need a little more instruction on roasting and peeling, here’s a useful site.
For batter:
Beat egg with the sparkling water and salt. Then mix in chickpea flour with whisk or immersion blender.
For stuffing:
Heat olive oil in a skillet and saute onion and garlic until translucent (about 3 to 5 minutes). Add meat and salt. Saute until meat is browned and fully cooked. Remove from heat and stir in cheese.
Heat 1/2 to 3/4 inch avocado oil or other neutral-tasting oil like hi-oleic safflower oil in a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Stuff each green chili with about ½ cup of meat and cheese mixture.
For coating in batter:
To better hold the seal, do your best to close the chile with the stuffing inside then coat in the dry flour and roll it in the wet batter until it is completely coated. The process can be a bit messy as you dip the chiles in the wet batter, but the end result is definitely worth it! Don’t worry if some of the stuffing falls out since the batter will ultimately hold it all together.
Cooking Instructions:
Once the stuffed chile is rolled in dry chickpea flour, then dipped in batter to completely coat it, place it gently in the hot oil. Cook on medium heat until browned on one side, then turn and brown the other side.
Suggested Meal Plan:
To serve these as a complete meal, each person should receive about one stuffed chile with a fresh sliced tomato. For dessert, each person should receive about a 1/2 cup of strawberries with 2 tablespoons of full fat greek yogurt.
Protein: 24%
Carbohydrate: 24%
Fat: 52%
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What to do with your left over batter?
Once you’ve made the 8 stuffed chiles, you’ll probably have about 1/4 of the wet batter and 1/4 cup of dry chickpea flour left over. I have trouble throwing food away, so I like to use the leftover batter to make something. My favorite way to use the leftover is to make super simple Chile Cheese Fritters, or as I like to call them, “I’m too Busy to make Chile Rellenos – Fritters”! You can even use the beef filling to make this recipe without making the original stuffed chiles.
Chile Cheese Fritters:
About ¾ cup wet batter recipe (or whatever is left over)
¼ cup dry chickpea flour (or whatever is left over)
6 ounces cheese
4 ounces chopped Green Chiles
Just mix all ingredients together, form into small patties, and drop them in the fry oil, turning them over to brown both sides. These easy beauties were quite the hit at my house. What about yours? Let us know in the comments!
Click here for a printable version of this recipe!