Juan Diego Michels Cheese Stuffed Poblanos Recipes

STUFFED POBLANO CHILES ("CHILES RELLENOS")

Steps:

• Sauce: Put the tomatoes, garlic and onion in a blender. Blend until smooth. In a medium saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Chile rellenos: Mix the cheese and oregano in a small bowl. Cut a slit through 1 side of the charred chiles and fill each chile with 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture. Close with toothpicks to hold the filling in place. In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. Add the egg yolk and continue to beat for about 1 minute.
• In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour in enough oil to fill the pan about a third of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 375 degrees F. (If you don't have a thermometer a cube of bread will brown in about 3 minutes.) Dredge the filled chiles in flour until fully covered. Shake off any excess flour, then dip the chiles into the egg mixture, until well coated. Fry until golden brown and drain on paper towels.
• Arrange the chiles on a serving platter, spoon the sauce on top and serve.

STUFFED CHEESE POBLANOS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F. Meanwhile on a gas stove on high or skillet heat chiles directly on flame until charred. Keep in plastic bag for 5 minutes. Peel chiles under cold water.
• Open on one side, remove seeds. Fill each poblano with 3 strips of the cheese. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons shredded mozarella cheese on each chile. Place in 9x13-inch glass baking dish.
• Bake chiles 15 to 20 minutes or until cheeses are melted and chiles are soft.
• Meanwhile, make tomato sauce. Place all sauce ingredients in food processor bowl or blender; process until smooth. Pour sauce into 2 quart saucepan. Cook over medium high heat about 15 minutes or until sauce is slightly reduced and dark red.
• To serve, place tomato sauce on plate; top with stuffed poblano chile. Drizzle with mexican style cream.

MIGUELINA'S POBLANOS AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Rinse the poblano peppers, and remove the stem and core. Remove any remaining seeds. Heat a heavy skillet over high heat. Place peppers in the skillet, and cook until blistered and blackened. Turn frequently to blacken all of the skin. You want to make sure that no part of the pepper remains crispy. Place the peppers into a paper bag, fold the top closed, and let the peppers steam for a few minutes to loosen the skin.
• Heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
• Rinse the peppers under cold running water to remove as much of the black skin as possible. Don't get prissy about it; you can eat the skins, even if they're black - most people like some of the black skin. Next, WASH your hands well with soap and water, or you'll be sorry later when you touch your eyes or mouth.
• Insert a nice thick piece of cheese into each pepper, and secure the opening with a toothpick. Coat the peppers in flour. Gently place the peppers into the hot oil, and reduce the heat to medium. Fry for 3 to 5 minutes per side. Don't try to turn them over until the bottom has a firm crust on it. Try to avoid letting the cheese run out. When both sides are slightly browned and the coating is firm, remove from the pan, and drain on paper towels.

POBLANOS STUFFED WITH CORN AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat broiler. Coat both a large baking sheet and a 9 x15 baking dish with cooking spray.
• Place poblano on baking sheet and broil 5 inches from heat for 15 to 20 minutes, turning often to char evenly. Transfer to a bowl, cover and let cool 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add scallions and garlic; cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often, to wilt scallions. Add corn; cook 2 to 3 minutes then add cilantro. Remove from heat and stir in farmer cheese and salt.
• Heat oven to 350*F. Carefully remove the loosened chard skin from the poblanos. Cut in half lengthwise; remove core and seeds. Arrange poblano in baking dish in single layer. Fill each with about 1/2 cup corn mixture.
• Bake 10 minutes, top with Cheddar cheese and bake 5 minutes to melt cheese.