amelia’s chili rellenos

Before I started in earnest on my eating seasonally journey, I didn’t know that chili rellenos is the perfect Fall food. Peppers, as it turns out, especially Poblanos and Anaheims proliferate in Fall. While poblanos are the traditional pepper of choice in this dish, I’ve found that a large Anaheim works well too.

I’ve added meat to this dish to make it heartier. I chose ground lamb because that’s what I had in my freezer and I’m really glad I did. The slightly gamey flavor of lamb lent well to the heat of the peppers. I’ve also added a distinctly Southern flare to this dish by adding crumbled chips made from winter greens. I chose kale because again, that’s what I had, but I think collard leaves would work equally well here.

I know that chili rellenos is a popular and familiar dish and there are literally thousands of recipes for it on the Internet. But I hope you’ll consider trying this one, if for no other reason, than to experiment with drying kale leaves. Heck, you can just eat them as chips!

Ingredients:

2 extra large green onions, chopped

1/2 lb ground beef or lamb

4-6 large Anaheim or Poblano peppers or a combination of both

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 Tbs olive oil

2 medium tomatoes, diced or 1 14-oz. can fire-roasted or petit cut tomatoes, drained

3/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp. ancho chili powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

Dash cayenne pepper

3-4oz. shredded Mexican blend cheese

8-12 curly kale leaves, rinsed and thoroughly dried

Instructions:

  1. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.

  2. Add onions and garlic and cook 2-3 min.

  3. Add ground meat and break apart using a spatula. Cook until no longer pink.

  4. Add salt, paprika, chili powder, cumin and cayenne. Mix thoroughly,

  5. Add tomatoes and heat thorough, stirring often.

  6. While contents in skillet are cooking, blister peppers on a hot grill, turning once or twice during cooking.

  7. Heat oven to 350.

  8. During the 2nd half of cooking the peppers, place kale leaves directly on grill grate in single layer. Allow kale leaves to dry out. You will know they are done when the edges are brown and they are crisp to the touch. Remove leaves from grill and set aside.

  9. Remove peppers from grill and allow to cool enough to handle.

  10. Cut stems away from peppers and slit one side and open peppers. Scrape seeds and membranes away using a spoon, being careful not to tear the peppers.

  11. Lightly grease a casserole dish and line with filleted peppers.

  12. Gently spoon meat and tomato mixture onto pepper fillets and top with cheese.

  13. Pop casserole into the pre-heated oven. Cook until all flavors have melded and cheese melts, about 5 min.

  14. While casserole is heating, use hands to crumble dried kale leaves into a bowl.

  15. Remove casserole from oven and top with kale crumbles before serving.