Chiles Rellenos

Ingredients

• 8 large poblano chiles
• 400g quesillo (Oaxaca cheese) or low-moisture mozzarella
• 5 eggs, separated
• 60g plain flour, plus 4 tbsp for dusting
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 700ml vegetable oil, for frying
• 700g ripe tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 white onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp lard or vegetable oil
• 400ml chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
• salt and black pepper, to taste

Before you cook

• Pull the quesillo apart into strands, or cut the mozzarella into thick batons that will fit inside a chile.
• Separate the eggs into two clean bowls, making sure not a speck of yolk gets into the whites.
• Quarter the tomatoes and peel the onion and garlic.
• Put the dusting flour on a plate and season it with a pinch of salt.

Steps

1. Char the poblanos directly over a gas flame, or under a very hot grill, for about ten minutes, turning them until the skin is blistered and black on every side.
2. Put the hot chiles in a bowl, cover it tightly and let them steam for fifteen minutes.
3. Rub the skins off with your fingers, leaving the flesh intact. Do not rinse them under the tap.
4. Cut a slit lengthways down each chile, from just below the stalk to the tip.
5. Reach in with a small spoon and lift out the seed pod and any pale veins, keeping the stalk attached.
6. Pat the insides dry with kitchen paper, because a wet chile will make the batter slide straight off.
7. Blend the tomatoes, onion and garlic to a smooth purée.
8. Heat the tablespoon of lard in a saucepan over medium-high heat and pour in the purée.
9. Fry the purée for six minutes, stirring, until it deepens in colour.
10. Add the stock, thyme, bay leaf and oregano, season with salt and pepper, and simmer the caldillo gently for twenty minutes.
11. Stuff each chile with cheese until it is full but still closes, and press the slit shut.
12. Roll each stuffed chile in the seasoned flour and tap off the excess.
13. Pour the frying oil into a deep heavy pan to a depth of 3cm and heat it to 180C.
14. Whisk the egg whites with the teaspoon of salt to stiff, glossy peaks.
15. Beat the yolks lightly, then fold them into the whites along with the 60g of flour, using as few strokes as possible so the batter stays airy.
16. Hold a chile by the stalk, lower it into the batter and turn it until it is thickly coated.
17. Lay it gently into the hot oil, seam side down, and fry two at a time for two minutes.
18. Spoon hot oil over the top of each chile as it fries so the exposed batter sets and puffs.
19. Turn each chile and fry for another two minutes, until evenly deep gold.
20. Lift them onto kitchen paper and repeat with the rest.
21. Ladle the hot caldillo into shallow bowls, sit the chiles in it and serve immediately, before the batter loses its crispness.