Exquisite Deconstructed Chile Relleno Casserole

Just in time for your Cinco de Mayo fiesta, meet the most lip-smacking and Exquisite Deconstructed Chile Relleno Casserole. It is certainly a great dish to add to your party spread or just to make it when you are craving chiles rellenos.

Now, what do I mean by “deconstructed”? Well, that despite the different presentation of this tasty casserole, the traditional flavors will not suffer at all. Chiles Rellenos, traditionally, are prepared and served individually. Sometimes they are stuffed with meat and sometimes with cheese or other ingredients. Then they are dredged in flour and dipped in an egg white batter to coat them. Once battered they are fried in hot oil. This will give the egg white batter a nice, appetizing golden hue.

The Chiles Rellenos prepared this way can be eaten once fried or they can be smothered in a tomato sauce. Here is the recipe of my Traditional Chiles Rellenos if you want to try them at a later date. And yes, they are delicious but you definitely have to put some effort and they are a tad more time-consuming to prepare.

But with this tantalizingly Exquisite Deconstructed Chile Relleno Casserole recipe, we make the process much easier without sacrificing the taste at all. Trust me on this one, the great flavors are there. And the end result will be extremely addicitve, as it’s both cheesy and meaty. In brief, deeply satisfying!

So, how did I fix my Exquisite Deconstructed Chile Relleno Casserole, then? I started by blistering the chiles, peeling, seeding and deveining them. Then I cut them in half, crosswise, stuffed them with cheese. Then I covered them with a meat tomato sauce that is spicy enough to tickle your taste buds and then I topped with more cheese. Simple, right?

Now, you might be tempted to skip the part where you blister the Poblano chili pods. If you like your Chiles Rellenos crunchy, like cucumber crunchy, by all means you can prepare them that way. However, keep in mind that blistering the Chiles Poblanos is done not only to remove the skin more easily, but also to partly cook them, to make them pliable while at the same time making the flavor of the pod smoky and deeper, which makes them even better!

Feel free to adjust the spices in the tomato sauce to your own liking. We do love to spice up our food in this household, but you do you.

Exquisite Deconstructed Chile Relleno Casserole

Yazzy

Print Recipe

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

  

• 8 – 9 units Poblano peppers Blistered, skin, veins and seeds removed
• 14 oz block Pepper Jack cheese cut in pieces, to stuff the peppers
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 unit onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 lbs ground beef
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground chili powder
• 1/4 tsp ground chipotle powder
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp granulated beef bouillon
• 1-10oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1-10oz can diced tomatoes with habaneros
• 1-8oz can tomato sauce
• 2 cups shredded Jalapeño Pepper Jack or Mexican blend cheese
• 1/2 cup Mexican or sour cream optional

Instructions

 

• To blister the Poblanos: heat up a large heavy skillet. Place the peppers in the skillet and start blistering the skin on all sides. The point is only to blister the skin to make the peeling easier, not to burn the flesh. Keep an eye on the peppers and turn them often to achieve an even blistering. Place the blistered peppers in a plastic bag and let them sweat for 15 – 20 minutes.
• Prepare the meat sauce while the Poblanos sweat. Heat up the oilve oil in a large pot. Over medium heat saute the onions until softened, then add the minced garlic. Cook them for 1 – 2 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook until brown. Add the spices and keep cooking for 1 – 2 minutes. Add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes and the tomato sauce can. Season with the beef bouillon. Turn down the heat to a simmer and let the meat sauce cook for 10 minutes.
• Remove the Poblanos' skins, cut the peppers in half crosswise and then remove the veins and seeds. Stuff the halves with the block Pepper Jack cheese pieces.
• Preheat oven to 350 F, Grease slightly a 9" x 13" casserole/baking pan. Place the stuffed Poblano halves in the casserole/baking pan. Cover them with the meat tomato sauce, sprinkle the shredded Pepper Jack cheese all over and dollop some sour cream, if using.
• Bake uncovered for 30 – 35 minutes, until the cheese has melted. Enjoy!