Chile Rellenos

I love Mexican food and could eat it every single day. It's colorful, flavorful, has texture and it is flexible. It also tastes better the next day. 

Traditional chile rellenos are filled with cheese, dipped in batter, deep fried then served with a tomato sauce. Yum! But, what if we could extract the same time of flavor and experience without deep frying? 

Yes, it's possible! I stuffed poblano peppers with finely diced and roasted butternut squash, sautéed mushrooms, and of course queso fresco and then popped them into the oven for just a few minutes to heat through. The sauce really bring this dish together--so deep-fry or not, this is the real deal breaker in the dish. The richness comes from the medley of vegetables that hit just about every note in your mouth. Don't skip the sauce, and if you are up for it, make two batches and freeze the second for another go-round. 

Time: 45 minutes
Servings: Four
​Level: Easy

Print recipe!

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INGREDIENTS

• 4 poblano peppers
• 2 cups cubed butternut squash
• 8 ounces mushrooms, baby Portobello, cleaned and diced
• 8 ounces queso fresco, crumbled by hand
• olive oil, salt, and ground black pepper

 
Tomato Sauce

• 4 plum tomatoes, cut into 8 pieces 
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Wash and place whole poblano peppers on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven cool until easy to handle. 
3. Simultaneously, place butternut squash on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 15 minutes or until fork tender. Set aside to cool and then give the butternut squash a rough chop. 
4. To make Tomato Sauce, place tomatoes, vegetable broth, garlic, salt, oregano, cumin, and black pepper in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Bring to boil then simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Let the sauce cool, then blend until smooth. Adjust salt and pepper as desired. 
6. Heat a sauté pan, add a little bit of olive oil, then add mushrooms and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 
7. In a large bowl combine the roasted and chopped butternut squash, cooked mushrooms, and crumbled queso fresco. Mix well. 
8. Once the poblanos are cool enough to handle, cut in half and remove the seeds. Stuff each half with the vegetable and queso mixture and place in a ceramic baking dish. Heat in the oven for about 5 minutes.
9. To plate spoon some sauce on a dish and spread in a circle. Place two poblano halves on a plate. Sprinkle with more queso if desired.