There’s no time like summer to turn up the heat with savory and spicy Southwestern fare like these chile rellenos, made with lambic, gueuze, or other sour beer.
Active preparation time: 60 minutes
Total time: 75 minutes
Serves: 4
2 cup goat cheese
1/2 cup (118 ml) lambic, gueuze, or other sour beer
2 Tbs basil chiffonade
Pinch of salt
4 poblano peppers
Cooking oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cup all-purpose flour
3 cup semolina
In a mixing bowl, combine the goat cheese, beer, basil, and salt. Mix well and set aside.
Preheat the grill to high. Lightly rub the poblano peppers with the cooking oil. Fill a mixing bowl with ice water. Place the peppers on the grill and char the skin on each side. (This can also be done in an oven at a high temperature.)
When the skin has sufficiently blackened around the peppers, remove them from the heat and place them in the ice water to stop the cooking. When the peppers are cool, carefully remove the skin with your fingers or by scraping with a paring knife, making sure not to cut the skin. Ideally, the peppers should be left intact, but if not, it’s not that big of a deal.
Once you’ve removed the charred skin, with a sharp knife make a cut in the pepper from the top to the bottom, just enough for you to scrape out the seeds. Divide the goat cheese into 4 pieces to match the size of the peppers. (Peppers may vary in size, but each should average about a ½ cup of your goat cheese mixture.) With your hands, roll the goat cheese into an oblong shape and slide each oblong piece inside a pepper. Press the cut edges of the peppers together and refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the cheese to firm up.
Line up, in three separate pans, your breading ingredients: flour, then egg, then semolina. Roll each pepper in the flour first, coating well and knocking off any extra flour. Dip the floured pepper in the egg mixture, shake off any excess, and then roll the pepper in the semolina. You can keep these prepared rellenos in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before the next step.
Preheat a deep fryer to 350°F (177°C). Fry the peppers until they become golden brown, 2–3 minutes. Serve hot with a black bean sauce or Beer and Pork Posole.
Beer Suggestions: Creature Comforts Athena (Athens, Georgia), Crooked Stave Flor D’Lees (Denver, Colorado), Boon Oude Gueuze (Lembeek, Belgium), Grand Teton Goze (Victor, Idaho).
PHOTO: MATT GRAVES