An Inspired Cook

It’s chile season in New Mexico and beyond.  One of the things I miss most about living in New Mexico is the smell of roasting green chile in the air.  There is nothing like it! But in the last few years Hatch chile has come to me.  Several years ago I found a grocery store across town that was roasting NM Hatch green chile and I filled my freezer full. In the last 2 – 3 years it has expanded and now we find chile across the Kansas City metro with roasters going at many grocery stores on any given Saturday in August and early September.  I love this time of year and always save out the biggest and meatiest of chiles for rellenos.  Making rellenos is a labor of love but it’s a messy tradition.  These chile relleno chimichangas have a crunchy outer texture like a traditional relleno but it makes less mess without the batter.  This is my second batch of chimi’s since we got our green chile.  I’ve had green chile every day for a week now, for instance we’ve had green chile cheese burgers, green chile stew, quesadillas, breakfast burritos.  I could go on and on!!

Your chiles need to be roasted, peeled and seeded.  Slice the side open and fill with grated Oaxaca cheese or Monterey Jack cheese.  For tips on how to roast chiles here is a link on how to do it.  If the chile is too long for the tortilla, cut off the tip so that you have approximately an inch on each side.

Pull the sides up and fold inward toward the chile, then roll from the bottom up around the chile filled with cheese.  Secure with a toothpick.

Make as many as you want, I only need 4 today.  These aren’t going to fry long enough to melt all the cheese.  I have found that microwaving them for 30 seconds to 1 minute just before placing them in the hot skillet works perfectly.

Heat about 1/4 inch of canola oil in a cast iron skillet.  Once it’s hot place the rolled chiles in the skillet to fry for approximately 30 seconds on each side.  Use tongs to turn them over and also on the ends if you want.  Takes about 2 minutes to get all sides browned.

Remove the toothpicks and place on a plate lined with a paper towel.  I made some Molcajete Green Chile Salsa and Guacamole in a Molcajete to go with the Chile Relleno Chimichangas.

By microwaving them for a few seconds the cheese melts perfectly and tastes so good. And the microwave won’t hurt the texture of your tortilla either.  It will crisp up nice and brown in the hot oil.

My taste buds are in anticipation, I can’t wait to bite into my first chimi.

And there’s Z  in the window photobombing my shot.





Chile Relleno Chimichangas

4 large Green Chile, roasted, peeled and seeded
4 ounces Oaxaca Cheese, grated (may use Monterey Jack)
4 large Flour Tortillas, 8 inch
Canola Oil for frying
Molcajete Green Chile Salsa, optional
Guacamole in a Molcajete, optional

Roast chile over an open flame, or broil in the oven at the highest temperature turning until all sides of the chile are blistered and/or charred.  Place the chiles in a ziplock bag and let steam for 20 minutes.  Chiles will easily peel under running water to remove peel.  Make a slit down the side of the chile and remove the stem and seeds.

Fill each chile with approximately 1 ounce of grated cheese.  Place the chile in the middle of the tortilla.  You will want to have an inch on each side to fold up so the chile should be no longer than 6 inches.  Fold the middle of the tortilla inward and begin rolling around the chile starting at the bottom and rolling up.  Secure with a toothpick. Continue filling and rolling each additional tortilla around the chiles.

Microwave the rolled tortillas 30 seconds – 1 minute, or until they are warm to the touch.

Heat a cast iron skillet with about 1/4 inch of canola oil.  When the oil is hot place the chimichangas in the skillet and fry on each side approximately 30 seconds or approx 2 minutes total.  They should look crisp and brown.  Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel.

Serve chimichangas hot with guacamole and salsa.

Makes 4 Chile Relleno Chimichangas