Poblano Chiles Stuffed with Meat "Chiles Rellenos de Picadillo"

The challenge this weekend was to prepare Chiles Rellenos. I have never cooked them before and it seemed a bit overwhelming, but as I kept going, I achieved the perfect Chiles.
There is always anticipation when you eat them, because you never know how spicy the one you picked will be. 

The thing with spicy food is that we end up loving it so much in part because it releases endorphins in the body. When capsaicin, the element of chili peppers that cause the "spicy" sensation, comes into contact with the tongue, the body is tricked into believing that it is in pain and releases the pain-relieving endorphins. This explains why, like anything that releases endorphins, spicy food can become somewhat addictive, believe I know! Once you start getting into spicy food you will crave it and build tolerance levels so that what was extremely hot in the beginning will now become mild to you.

To me, spicy is one of the healthiest addictions anyone can develop. Research shows hot chili peppers actually protect the stomach lining and may prevent the gastric damage associated with anti-inflammatory painkillers. They are high in nutrients such as calcium plus vitamins A and C, and there’s some evidence that hot chilies can reduce cardiovascular disease risk, help prevent diabetes and boost metabolism. They may also have some ability to prevent cancer.

So next time you are thinking about avoiding chiles... THINK TWICE!

There are many variations of chiles rellenos, but, the most popular ones are Poblano Chiles stuffed with meat or cheese filling fried in an airy batter. The poblano is a mild chile pepper original from the State of Puebla, Mexico. Dried it is called an ancho chile. An immature poblano is dark purplish green in color but eventually turns a red so dark as to be nearly black.

"Chiles Rellenos de Picadillo"
Poblano Chiles Stuffed with Meat

Ingredients:

Meat Filling "Picadillo"

2 lbs of ground pork
salt to taste
vegetable oil for frying
2/3 cup of finely chopped onions
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
8 pepper corns
5 whole cloves
1/2 inch of cinnamon stick
3 tbsp of raisins
2 tbsp of slivered almonds
2 tbsp of candied fruit (I personally don't enjoy the candied fruit so I left this ingredient out of my picadillo and it tasted great, but if you like it you might want to add it).
1 1/4 lbs tomatoes roughly chopped.

Tomato Broth

1 1/4 lbs of tomatoes (briefly blended, you still want to see the pieces of tomato)
3 tbsp of white onion (roughly chopped)
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
4 whole cloves
6 pepper corns
2 bay leaves
2 springs of fresh thyme
1 inch piece of cinnamon stick
3 cups of pork broth
salt to taste

The Chile

8 chiles poblanos (charred and peeled; you can see how to in this recipe)

The Batter

4 large eggs, separated
vegetable oil for frying
1/4 tsp of salt
1/3 cup all purpose flour (more if needed)

Directions:

Over medium high heat, add the vegetable oil and fry the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the meat and let cook until it begins to brown (put the meat together doing a big patty as if making a huge burger, that way you'll get it to brown easier, if it's too big, do it in batches as by browning it you'll get amazing flavour). Crush the spices roughly and add them together with the rest of the "picadillo" ingredients except the tomatoes and add them to the meat. Cook everything for 5 more mins and then add the tomatoes. Continue cooking for about 10 mins over high heat. Should be moist but not juicy. Stir from time to time to avoid sticking.

To prepare the tomato broth blend tomatoes, onion and garlic until smooth. Over a high heat pan add the oil, once it is hot enough start adding all the ingredient except for the pork broth. Let the salsa fry for about 5 mins stirring occasionally. Then you are good to add the broth, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10 mins. You are looking for a broth rather than a salsa so it should be still runny.

To prepare the chiles, Make a slit in the side of each of the chiles and carefully remove the seeds and veins. Be careful to leave the top of the Chile. Stuff each chile depends on the size, but approx 1/2 cup of the meat filling "picadillo" until they are well filled.

To prepare the batter heat the oil in a deep skillet. 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 and sprinkle them lightly with flour. Coat with the batter and Fry them in a hot oil. You are looking for a deep golden colour batter.

Place the chiles in the tomato broth and serve. I love all the Mexican favourites that go so well with every dish .. so I added sour cream, avocados and queso fresco.

Mmmmmmm!!!