INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

This dish consists of large chiles or bell peppers stuffed with meat
or cheese, coated with a light batter, and fried. They are served in  a
light tomato broth. There is always an exclamation of pleasure and
surprise when a cazuela of golden, puffy chiles rellenos sitting in
their tomato broth is presented at the table. If you have eaten those
sad, flabby little things that usually turn up in so-called Mexican
restaurants in the United States as authentic chiles rellenos, you
have a great surprise in store. Here is yet another prime example of
the fine feeling the Mexicans have for texture in their food: you  bite
through the slightly crisp, rich chile poblano to experience the
crunch of the almonds and little bits of crystallized fruits in the
pork filling. Then there is the savory broth to cut the richness of
the batter. Chiles poblanos are imported in great quantities to large
centers of Mexican population here in the States but very few find
their way to the East. (Maybe this was true in 1972 when this book  was
published, but these days they are readily available here in
Cambridge. To me, bell peppers are no substitute.) I am afraid the
bell pepper is about the only suitable substitute for appearance and
size--you can always spike them with a little chile serrano.
Assembling the chiles may seem like a long laborious task, but it is
no more complicated and time consuming than most worthwhile dishes,
and this dish is certainly worthwhile. Prepare the picadillo: Cut the
meat into large cubes. Put them into the pan with the onion, garlic,
and salt and cover with cold water. Bring the meat to a boil, lower
the flame and let it simmer until just tender--about 40 to 45  minutes.
Do not overcook. Leave the meat to cool off in the broth.  Strain the
meat, reserving the broth, then shred or chop it finely  and set it
aside. Let the broth get completely cold and skim off the  fat. Reserve
the fat. Melt the lard and cook the onion and garlic,  without
browning, until they are soft. Add the meat and let it cook  until it
begins to brown. Crush the spices roughly and add them, with  the rest
of the ingredients to the meat mixture. Cook the mixture a  few moments
longer. Mash the tomatoes a little and add them to the  mixture in the
pan. Continue cooking the mixture over a high flame  for about 10
minutes, stirring it from time to time so that it does  not stick. It
should be almost dry. Prepare the tomato broth: Blend  the tomatoes,
with the juice extracted from their seeds, with the  onion and garlic
until smooth. Melt the lard and fry the tomato puree  over a high flame
for about 3 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking.  Add the rest of the
ingredients and cook them over a high flame for  about 5 minutes,
stirring. Add the pork broth and continue cooking  the broth over a
medium flame for about 15 minutes. By that time it  will be well
seasoned and reduced somewhat--but still a broth rather  than a thick
sauce. Add salt as necessary. Prepare the chiles: Put  the chiles
straight onto a fairly high flame or under the  broiler--not into the
oven--and let the skin blister and burn. Turn  the chiles from time to
time so they do not get overcooked or burn  right through. Wrap the
chiles in a damp cloth or plastic bag and  leave them for 20 minutes.
The burned skin will then flake off very  easily and the flesh will
become a little more cooked in the steam.  Make a slit in the side of
each chile and carefully remove the seeds  and veins. Be careful to
leave the top of the chile, the part around  the base of the stem,
intact. (If the chiles are too picante, let  them soak in a mild
vinegar and water  continued in part 2

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
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Calories: 1373
Calories From Fat: 1141
Total Fat: 126.7g
Cholesterol: 284.4mg
Sodium: 5063.2mg
Potassium: 1205.7mg
Carbohydrates: 19.4g
Fiber: 5g
Sugar: 8.3g
Protein: 39g