I love a good chiles relleno, but before now, I have never attempted to make them myself. They turned out quite well.

This recipe made 7 servings

7 large Pablano Peppers

1 lb ground beef

1 onion chopped

1 leek chopped

2 cans diced tomatoes, or about 8 Roma tomatoes sliced

4 eggs separated

1 tsp Cumin

Black Pepper to taste

1 Tbsp Garlic

Cheddar Cheese (optional)

Sour Cream (optional)

To begin, you must roast the peppers. First cut out the tops and slice down one side. Be sure to remove all of the seeds. You can grill the peppers until their skins bubble and blacken, or roast them over a gas stove, or broil them in the oven. I broiled mine, placing the sheet pan close to the upper element in the oven. Once the first side was blackened, I turned them and broiled the second side.

Once the pepper skins are bubbly and dark, remove them from the oven, grill or stove, and wrap the peppers and pan in foil to keep the moisture inside.

Allow the peppers to sit and cool. Once they are sufficiently cooled, so that they can be handled, uncover them and prepare to peel them.

Side Note: I recommend wearing gloves for this portion. It is not necessary, but speaking from experience, I do recommend it. I washed my hands when I finished this portion, and then blew my nose, only to discover that the pepper oils did not wash off easily, and I spent the afternoon with a burning nose. I also got some of the oils under my thumb nail, which continued to burn late into the night, and I could not seem to wash them away. I will be wearing gloves next time.

Once your peppers have been peeled, you can start the rest of the process.

Cook the ground beef and onions with a Tbsp of garlic, and 1 tsp of cumin. Set aside

Cook the tomatoes, leeks and 1 Tbsp of garlic, and some black pepper to taste. Set aside.

Whip the 4 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Once they are good and stiff, add the yolks. This creates the batter for your rellenos.

Stuff the peppers with your cooked meat mixture. Feel free to add cheese, or to fill the peppers with only cheese if you’d rather. Once all of the peppers are stuffed and ready, heat your oil in a deep pan. I used olive oil. You don’t need a ton, just enough to fry the peppers, not emerse them.

Dip or paint your peppers with the egg batter. I found that using a spatula to paint the peppers, worked best for me. I battered one side, placed the pepper in the pan batter side down, and battered the top.

You may want to use a splash guard. FYI.

Let the pepper fry until batter is golden. This does not take long.  Then flip the relleno so that the top fries. Carefully remove the relleno to a plate, or to a pan if you have other rellenos to fry up. Place the cooked rellenos on a pan in the oven at 250 degrees to stay warm until ready to serve.

Serve with the sauce and sour cream over the top, with rice beside.

One of the best things about this recipe is that it is grain free. I figured the batter would need some kind to flour or corn in it, but the egg meringue batter is perfect.