Chiles Rellenos De Picadillo Poblano Chiles Stuffed With Meat Diana Kennedy Recipe 45

Steps:

• To prepare Picadillo: In a large skillet, saute the onion, garlic and bay leaves in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until the onion is softened. Add the beef, and continue to cook until the beef is no longer pink; breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in oregano, cloves, and cinnamon. Pour out any excess fat and stir in the tomato paste until thoroughly incorporated. Add chipotles, raisins, almonds, and olives; salt to taste. Remove from heat. When mixture is cool, add cheese and mix well.
• Char the flesh of the peppers over a gas flame, under a broiler or on a grill. Alternatively, set a rack over an electric burner or use a very hot heavy frying pan. Cook, turning frequently, until the skins are blistered all over. Take care not to overcook and burn right through the pepper. Put peppers in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sweat for about 10 minutes to loosen the skins. Rub off as much skin as possible and cut a slit along the side of each pepper, keeping the stems and tip intact. Carefully remove the seeds and inner membranes, but do not rinse with water.
• Heat 1-inch of oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat until very hot. Place flour in a shallow platter and season with salt and pepper. Beat egg whites until foamy, add a pinch of salt, and whip to stiff peaks. Lightly beat the egg yolks and fold into the whites. Stuff the chiles with picadillo, leaving enough room to close the opening. Overlap the seam slightly and gently squeeze closed. Secure with wooden toothpicks if desired. Pat the peppers dry and lightly coat in the seasoned flour. Pick the chile up by its stem and dip into the egg batter, making sure they are well covered, tap off excess. Fry until evenly browned, about 3 minutes each side. The egg burns easily so take care not to cook too long. Drain on paper towels. To serve, ladle a pool of Tomato Ranchero sauce on plates and set chiles rellenos on top, serve immediately.
• Combine and puree the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, cumin, and garlic in a food processor.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan or skillet and fry the tomato puree over high flame. Add broth, and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly and is heated through. If sauce tastes somewhat bitter, add a pinch of sugar. Sprinkle with a dash of hot red pepper sauce. Sauce may be served hot or cold.
• Yield: about 2 cups

Steps:

• Put the meat into a large saucepan with the sliced onion, garlic, and salt and barely cover with water. Bring the meat to a simmer and continue cooking over low heat until the meat is tender-about 40 minutes. Leave the meat to cool in the broth. When cool, strain the meat, reserving the broth. First shred and then choop the meat to a medium texture-there should be about 3 cups. Skim the broth. Melt the lared in a large skillet and cook the chopped onion and garlic until translucent-about 2 minutes. Add the meat and let it cook until it begins to brown, about 8 minutes. Crush the spices roughly and add them, the the rest of the picadillo ingredients, except the tomatoes, to the meat mixture. Cook the mixture a few momnents longer. Blend the tomatoes briefly and add them to the mixture in the pan. Continue cooking the mixture over high heat for about 10 minutes, stiring it from time to time to avoid sticking. Add salt to taste. It should be moist but not juicy. TO PREPARE THE TOMATO BROTH: Blend the tomatoes with the onion and garlic until smooth. Melt the lard in a wide pan and fry the blended tomatoes over high heat for about 3 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the broth and salt, and cook them over high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring. Add the pork broth and continue cooking the broth over medium heat for about 10 minutes. By that time it will be well seasoned and reduced somewhat-but still a broth rather than a thick sauce. Add salt as necessary. TO PREPARE THE CHILES: Make a slit in the side of each chile andcarefully remove the seeds and veins. Bea careful to leave the top of the chile, the part around the base of the stem, intact. Stuff each chili with about 1/2 cup of the picadillo until they are well filled out but the cut edges still come together. TO PREPARE THE BATTER: Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until they are firm, but not too dry. Add the salt and egg yolks one by one, beating well after each addition. Prepare one chile at a time: pat the chile completely dry (or batter will not adhere)and sprinkle them lightly with flour. Coat with batter. Fry in the hot oil, turning it from time to time, until the batter turns a deep golden color-about 2 minutes. Drain the chiles on paper toweling and place them in the tomato broth-it should come about halfway uup the chiles-to heat through over low heat. Serve immediately. NOTE: You can prepare the stuffing and the sauce the day before, and clean the chiles. But do not put the stuffing into the chiles until about 2 hours before cooking. If you do prepare the chiles 2 hours ahead, do not put them into the broth. Place them on a rimmed cookie sheet lined with several layters of paper toweling, and reheat in a 350 F over for about 20 minutes. This method has the added advantage that the paper absorbs quite a lot of the grease. Then place the chiles in the broth or pour broth over and serve with hot tortillas. i do not recommned freezing.

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.