Baked Chile Relleno

 I've been on a roasted pepper kick lately and have been craving chile rellenos for quite a while. Growing up, my mom stuffed them with queso freso, dipped them in whipped egg whites and pan fried them until crispy and then served them with a potato pancake (similar to latkes) in a spicy broth. I made mine a little differently by using a colorful stuffing and skipping the egg whites and baking the pepper instead of frying. It's slightly healthier (you could always omit the cheese and make it a lot healthier) and not as heavy but still incredibly delicious.

recipe after the jump:

 Ingredients (amounts were eyeballed)
2  pasilla peppers
1 cup  queso fresco, crumbled
1/4 cup  red (any color) bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup  yellow onion, diced
small handful of spinach, chiffonade
1  garlic clove, finely minced
1 1/2 - 2  cups chicken, shredded, ground or cubed, cooked.
canola / olive oil  as needed (for sauteing)

For my chicken, I poached a breast and with two forks, pulled the meat apart and set it aside for later use.

 Roast your pepper over an open flame until skin is completely charred. Place in a bowl and tightly wrap with plastic wrap. Set aside.
Heat your oil over medium heat and saute your onion and bell pepper until tender but do not brown.
Toss in your spinach and cook for a minute or so, add garlic and cook until fragrant. Remove from heat and let cool a bit.
Take your pepper and with a paper towel (or not) and gently wipe the charred skin off. Once all the blackened skin is removed, make a slit in the pepper and remove stems and seeds.
In a bowl, combine chicken, cheese, and vegetables and adjust seasonings.
Gently fill the cavity of the pepper with the mixture. *If you are frying the pepper, do not over stuff and make sure to secure the opening with tooth picks.
Place on baking sheet and bake for 10-20 minutes at 400 degrees F.
Garnish with crumbled queso fresco and serve with a side of rice.

I had bought a mushroom to use in the stuffing but had completely forgotten about it until the peppers were in the oven. I removed its stem and hollowed it out just a bit and filled it with the stuffing mixture and broiled it for 5 minutes. Incredibly delicious!