3 - chiles rellenos

As I prepare to leave New Mexico, my palate also begins to say good bye to the unique cuisine and culinary artistry found here.  Last week I was at a farmer's market and bought a pound of freshly roasted green chiles (they were still warm in the bag) - perfect for some new Mexican style chiles rellenos.

ingredients

1- roasted green chiles (it can also be done with poblano peppers)
2- Monterrey cheese
3- 5 egg whites
4- flour
5- oil

what I did
* you need to peel the peppers, when peppers are roasted the skin is very easy to separate from the fruit... I took one at a time and under water (either bowl or flowing) I peeled them
* once the peppers are peeled, make a vertical slice from the top to halfway down the pepper and take out seed and white membrane (the spiciest part of the pepper)
* cut the cheese in wedges and stuff the peppers - make sure that they are not overstuffed, the cheese should fit easily inside

at this point I put the stuffed peppers in the fridge, since I was not going to have them till dinner, which is cool if you want to prepare in advance, or you can do it all at once

* make sure your stuffed peppers are dry (pat them dry with a paper towel)
* put some flower on a plate
* prepare an egg white batter by mixing the whites until stiff
* cover pepper with flower and then dip in egg white, set aside
* heat oil in a small pot, when oil is hot (it sizzles if you put a drop of water) place one or two chiles in oil, when batter on both sides of the pepper is hot, take out and place on a plate over a paper towel to soak in the excess oil

notes:  When I made them I was scared that the cheese was going to fall from the pepper when frying, this didn't happen, so don't worry too much if there is exposed cheese in pepper
I had this dish with a fresh tomato salad to balance all the fat from the cheese and frying, in new mexico it is traditionally served with Mexican style rice and beans...

bon apetit!