Chef Lupita
Adobo de Puerco Poblano
Puebla's weekday adobo of pork shoulder braised in a thick guajillo and ancho sauce sharpened with vinegar, cumin, and clove. The deep red of a market spice stall, the dish a poblana cooks without thinking.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Chiles Rellenos de Queso
Created by
Puebla's roasted poblanos peeled by hand, stuffed with panela or quesillo, cloaked in airy egg batter, and bathed in a clean tomato broth. The dish that holds a city's reputation in six green chiles.
Main Dishes
Mexican
Easter
Comfort Food
Weeknight
45 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 30 min total
Yield6 servings
This is Puebla. Not generic Mexican food. Puebla. The chile poblano takes its name from the city, and the city built half its culinary identity on what its cooks do with that chile when it is roasted, peeled, stuffed, and battered.
There are two kinds of chiles rellenos in Mexico, and the difference matters. Up north they fill the chile with picadillo, ground meat with raisins and almonds. In Puebla, when the dish is rellenos de queso, the filling is cheese and only cheese. Panela for clean bite. Quesillo de Oaxaca for the long pull. The chile is the dish. The cheese makes it generous. The batter holds it together. The caldillo de tomate, clean, just barely seasoned, fried first so the salsa darkens and the fat separates, is what bathes the chile and turns three components into one plate.
My mother made these on weeknights when poblanos were cheap and she did not feel like making mole. She would roast the chiles over the burner of our stove in Colonia Roma, her hand inches from the flame, turning them with her fingers because she did not trust tongs to feel the blistering. Then she would sit at the table with the bowl in her lap and peel them slowly while I did my homework next to her. Her notebook had this recipe on a page stained with tomato. In the margin: 'no laves los chiles con agua, se va el humo.' Do not rinse the chiles with water, the smoke runs off. She was right. La cocina no es decoracion, es trabajo.
Saber cocinar es saber vivir.
The chile poblano is named for the Valley of Puebla, where the variety has been cultivated since before the conquest in the rich volcanic soil at the base of the Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl volcanoes. Chiles rellenos appear in Mexican cookbooks as early as the 17th century, predating mole poblano and chiles en nogada as written recipes, with the egg batter technique likely arriving with Spanish convent cooking that brought the European practice of battered fried foods into the indigenous chile tradition. The cheese-stuffed version became a Lenten and Easter dish across central Mexico because it provided a substantial meatless main course during the seven Fridays of Cuaresma, and to this day the recipe is associated with Holy Week tables in Puebla, Tlaxcala, and the surrounding Bajio.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh chile poblano
Quantity
6 large
firm and unblemished, dark green, with thick walls
queso panela or quesillo de Oaxaca
Quantity
12 ounces
cut into thick batons that fit the length of the chile
eggs
Quantity
6 large
separated, at room temperature
kosher salt
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
for the batter
all-purpose flour
Quantity
1/2 cup
for dredging
vegetable oil or manteca de cerdo
Quantity
about 2 cups
for frying
ripe Roma tomatoes
Quantity
2 pounds
white onion
Quantity
1/4 medium chunk, plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped
garlic
Quantity
2 cloves
peeled
chile serrano (optional)
Quantity
1
stemmed
lard or vegetable oil
Quantity
2 tablespoons
for the caldillo
fresh epazote
Quantity
1 sprig
bay leaf
Quantity
1
chicken broth or water
Quantity
2 cups
kosher salt
Quantity
to taste
hand-pressed corn tortillas (optional)
Quantity
for serving
warmed
frijoles de la olla (optional)
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh chile poblanofirm and unblemished, dark green, with thick walls | 6 large |
| queso panela or quesillo de Oaxacacut into thick batons that fit the length of the chile | 12 ounces |
| eggsseparated, at room temperature | 6 large |
| kosher saltfor the batter | 1/4 teaspoon |
| all-purpose flourfor dredging | 1/2 cup |
| vegetable oil or manteca de cerdofor frying | about 2 cups |
| ripe Roma tomatoes | 2 pounds |
| white onion | 1/4 medium chunk, plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped |
| garlicpeeled | 2 cloves |
| chile serrano (optional)stemmed | 1 |
| lard or vegetable oilfor the caldillo | 2 tablespoons |
| fresh epazote | 1 sprig |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| chicken broth or water | 2 cups |
| kosher salt | to taste |
| hand-pressed corn tortillas (optional)warmed | for serving |
| frijoles de la olla (optional) | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Gas burner or broiler for roasting the chiles
- •Cast iron comal or heavy skillet for charring the tomatoes
- •Heavy 10-inch skillet for frying
- •Stand mixer or handheld electric beater
- •Wire rack lined with paper towels
- •Wide clay cazuela or talavera bowl for serving
Instructions
- 1
Choose the chiles
Buy poblanos that are firm, dark green, and have thick walls. The thin ones will collapse the moment they hit the batter. In Puebla the cooks press the chile with a thumb at the market and walk away from anything that gives too easily. Do the same. If the poblanos at your store are pale and skinny, do not make this dish today. Cocinar lo que el mercado vende hoy.
Shape matters as much as size. Look for chiles with a clear shoulder near the stem so you can make a clean lengthwise slit without the cheese spilling out the side. - 2
Roast and sweat the poblanos
Set the chiles directly over a gas flame or under a hot broiler. Turn them with tongs as the skin blisters and chars black in patches. You want the skin loose, not the flesh cooked through. About 6 to 8 minutes total. Drop them straight into a bowl and cover tightly with a kitchen towel or plastic. Let them sweat for 15 minutes. The steam trapped inside lifts the skin off the flesh.
- 3
Peel and clean the chiles
Working over the bowl, slip the charred skin off with your fingers and a paring knife. Do not run them under water. Water washes away the smoke and that is half the flavor. Make a single lengthwise slit from just below the stem to about an inch from the tip. Open carefully and remove the seed pod and veins, keeping the stem attached. The chile should look like a small green pouch. No me vengas con atajos. Peel each one by hand.
- 4
Build the caldillo de tomate
Roast the tomatoes, the onion chunk, the garlic, and the serrano on a dry comal over medium-high heat. Turn them until the skins blister and char in spots, about 10 minutes. Blend everything together with a pinch of salt until smooth. Heat the lard in a wide pot over medium-high, add the puree all at once (it will sputter, stand back), and fry the salsa for 5 minutes until it darkens and the fat separates. Pour in the broth, drop in the epazote and bay leaf, and simmer 15 minutes. Taste for salt. The caldillo should be clean, tomatoey, and just barely savory. This is not pasta sauce. It is a broth that bathes the chile.
- 5
Stuff the chiles
Slide a baton of panela or quesillo into each chile through the slit. Fill it generously but leave enough chile flesh on the edges to close around the cheese. If the slit gapes open, secure it with a wooden toothpick. Set the stuffed chiles aside on a plate while you make the batter.
Panela holds its shape and gives a clean, mild bite. Quesillo de Oaxaca melts into long pulls. Both are correct. Do not use mozzarella from the supermarket and do not use cheddar. Cheddar belongs in Texas, not in a chile relleno. - 6
Whip the batter
Pour about an inch of oil into a heavy skillet and heat it to medium. While it warms, beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with the salt until they hold stiff, glossy peaks. Lower the speed and add the yolks one at a time, beating just until incorporated. The batter should be thick, pale yellow, and hold a soft mound on the whisk. Overbeat and it weeps. Underbeat and it slides off the chile. This batter is the signature of a Puebla kitchen and it does not forgive distraction.
- 7
Dredge and fry
Spread the flour on a plate. Pat each stuffed chile dry with a paper towel, then roll it lightly in the flour. The flour gives the egg something to hold onto. Dip the floured chile into the batter, turning it to coat completely, and lower it gently into the hot oil holding the stem. Spoon hot oil over the top so the batter puffs evenly. Fry until the underside is deep gold, about 2 minutes, then turn once and fry the other side. Lift onto a rack lined with paper. Do not crowd the pan. Two chiles at a time, no more.
- 8
Bathe and serve
Lower the fried chiles into the simmering caldillo for just two minutes, long enough to drink in some of the broth without losing the lift of the batter. Lift them out with a slotted spoon. Set one chile in each shallow bowl. Ladle a generous spoonful of caldillo around it. Scatter the chopped raw onion on top. Serve immediately with warm tortillas and a bowl of frijoles de la olla on the side. The batter softens by the minute. Eat them now. Así se hace y punto.
Chef Tips
- •The chile is the entire dish. Pay for good poblanos with thick walls and dark skin, and do not bother making this when the only poblanos at the store are pale and shriveled. A weak chile gives you a weak relleno.
- •Panela and quesillo de Oaxaca are the two correct cheeses. Panela holds its shape and gives a clean, mild bite. Quesillo melts into long pulls. If you cannot find either, queso fresco firm enough to hold its shape will work. Mozzarella is a compromise. Cheddar is not a substitution, it is a different dish from a different country.
- •The caldillo is not pasta sauce. It is a clean broth that bathes the chile, lightly seasoned, finished with epazote. If you find yourself reducing it to a thick salsa, you have gone too far. Pull it off the heat and add more broth.
- •The batter only works if the egg whites are at room temperature and the bowl is clean. A drop of yolk in the whites or a wet bowl and the whites will never whip. Crack the eggs one at a time over a small bowl, then transfer each white, so a broken yolk does not ruin the whole batch.
Advance Preparation
- •The poblanos can be roasted, peeled, and stuffed up to one day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before battering.
- •The caldillo de tomate can be made up to two days ahead and reheated gently. It actually deepens overnight.
- •Do not batter and fry in advance. The puff of the egg collapses within an hour. The frying belongs to the moment of service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 525g)
Calories
520 calories
Total Fat
37 g
Saturated Fat
13 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
22 g
Cholesterol
225 mg
Sodium
950 mg
Total Carbohydrates
22 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
8 g
Protein
22 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Central Mexican Main Dishes
Browse the full collection
Chef Lupita
Arroz a la Mexicana
The red rice of central Mexican tables, long-grain rice fried in oil until pale gold, then simmered in blended tomato, onion, and garlic with carrot and peas. The side dish that anchors a comida.
Chef Lupita
Arroz Verde Poblano
Puebla's green rice, long grains toasted in lard then cooked in a vivid puree of charred chile poblano, cilantro, and parsley. A side that eats like a main with a fried egg on top.
Chef Lupita
Bacalao a la Mexicana
The Christmas Eve salt cod of central Mexico, slow-stewed with tomato, manzanilla olives, capers, almonds and pickled chiles güeros. The pot that anchors the Nochebuena table from Ciudad de México to Puebla.