Mexican Cheese Stuffed Capsicum

    (171)
    2 hours 20 minutes

    Also known as rellenos, this dish is simply delicious. Roast red capsicum are stuffed with cheese then battered, pan-fried and served with a tomato based sauce and a dollop of sour cream. Enjoy with freshly cooked rice.


    2 people made this

    Ingredients
    Serves: 4 

    • Stuffed Capsicum
    • 4 large red capsicum
    • 55g grated mozzarella cheese
    • 110g grated Cheddar cheese
    • 4 tablespoons plain flour, for dredging
    • Sauce
    • 1 (400g) tin chopped tomatoes with chillies
    • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    • 1/2 onion, diced
    • 1 clove garlic, finely diced
    • 350ml chicken stock
    • 2 tablespoons distilled malt vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
    • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
    • 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
    • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • Batter
    • 5 tablespoons plain flour
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 5 egg whites at room temperature
    • 1 egg yolk, beaten
    • 4 tablespoons plain flour, for dredging
    • 250ml oil for frying or as needed
    • sour cream for garnish

    Directions
    Preparation:45min  ›  Cook:45min  ›  Extra time:50min  ›  Ready in:2hours20min 

    1. Stuffed Capsicum: Preheat the grill and set the oven rack at about 15cm from the heat source. Line a baking tray with foil and place the red capsicum onto the prepared baking tray.
    2. Cook under the preheated grill until the skin of the capsicum has blackened and blistered, 8 to 10 minutes per side. When the capsicum are about 80 percent blackened, place them a plastic bag, seal and allow the capsicum to steam as they cool, about 20 minutes. Once cool, remove the skins and discard. Cut a slit lengthways into the side of each capsicum and remove seeds. Pat the capsicum dry with paper towels.
    3. Mix together the mozzarella and Cheddar cheese in a bowl until thoroughly blended. Divide the cheese into 4 portions and squeeze each portion lightly in your hands to make a ball shape. Insert a cheese ball into the slit in each pepper and pin the openings closed with cocktail sticks.
    4. Dredge each capsicum in flour, dust off the excess and place on a small baking tray lined with baking paper. Place the capsicum in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
    5. Sauce: Blend the tomatoes in a liquidiser until pureed and set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook and stir the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook and stir for about 30 seconds and pour in the pureed tomatoes, chicken stock, vinegar, oregano, cumin, black pepper, hot pepper sauce and cinnamon. Reduce to medium-low and simmer the sauce until reduced by half and thickened, about 20 minutes, stirring often.
    6. Preheat an oven to 100 degrees C. Warm a serving plate in the oven.
    7. Batter: Mix the flour with salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until the whites form stiff peaks. Lightly mix the egg yolk and flour/salt mixture into the egg whites to make a fluffy batter.
    8. To Serve: Remove capsicums from freezer and coat them in flour again. Shake off excess flour then dip each capsicum into the egg batter, using a spoon to gently but completely coat each capsicum with batter.
    9. Heat frying oil in a heavy cast iron frying pan over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers.
    10. Gently lay the coated capsicum into the hot oil and fry on both sides until the batter is golden brown and the cheese filling is hot, about 5 minutes per side. Remove capsicum to warmed plate while you finish frying.
    11. Ladle a generous spoonful of sauce onto plate and place capsicum on the sauce. Serve capsicums hot with a dollop of sour cream.

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    Reviews and Ratings
    Global Ratings:
    (171)

    Reviews in English (132)

    by
    120

    Oh, it is me again, Ellie May! I LOVE this recipe, it is a pain to do it all right but SO worth it! If you are going to do 4 chiles, go ahead and do 8-12, depending on size; eggwhites in the original recipe will allow for this. I make this 2-5 times a year, but mostly when Hatch, NM chiles are in harvest. We roast 20-40 lbs. of green chiles on our grill then freeze them, setting aside BIG fleshy/straight ones for this recipe so we can cook these all year. Best tip: cheese/flour them on all sides and freeze individually on cookie sheets. Once they are frozen, dump in a freezer bag so you can finish anytime in the winter when fresh isn't available. Cover again w/flour right before dipping in eggwhite then frying. I cook them slightly frozen so the cheese won't melt in the frying pan! I usually cook the sauce and only put in the food processor AFTER cooking it all together, so it will be smooth. And I save THAT too, in a freezerbag! When defrosting sauce, I may add fresh lime juice, or other spices to spark it up. MOST IMPORTANT, make sure egg whites are ROOM TEMP before whipping, and oil in frying pan is so hot in an iron skillet, that it is SCARY! Stay on top of it and turn with tongs; drain oil off on paper towels. Serve with sour cream and/or avocados for those that cannot take the heat, plus some hot sauce from MEXICO to keep authentic for those who want more! Nothing is better with this than a slice of lime, and a Negro Modelo Beer in a frosty glass. Enjoy!  -  02 Jan 2011  (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)

    by
    51

    I use the side of a spoon to scrape/remove the charred skin from the chilis & it works great without tearing the soft chili! Be sure your oil is hot when you start to batter the chilis so you can lay them directly into the pan. The batter is kinda delicate, treat it gently :o) You can also remove the 1 egg yolk completely & just use the egg whites...I like it either way. Have fun!  -  03 May 2010  (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)

    by
    38

    This is an excellent recipe: very clearly written with step by step directions that won't let you fail. And the final dish??? Superb and very authentic. It's not a super difficult recipe, but will take some time and probably suited for at least the intermediate cook. But definetly try this one. Make your sauce while the chiles sit for a bit in the freezer. I usually tweek recipes that I read, and the only thing I did differently here was to use long cubes of mexican melting cheese (queso quesadilla) instead of the shredded mix, because that is what I had in the frig. But really, I wouldn't change a thing. This recipe is PERFECT!  -  08 Jul 2010  (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)

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