Chili Rellenos with Chicken Picodillo

On my recent trip to Oaxaca I took a cooking class at the wonderful ranch of Susana Trilling.  The class breaks up into smaller groups, and chose which of the recipes we were having for our shared dinner, and I chose this one.  I love chili rellenos and this is a fabulous recipe, both for the batter on the outside, and the filling on the inside.

Chilies:
12-14 chiles de agua or 6-7 chiles poblanos

Picadillo:
2 Tb. vegetable oil
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 c. chopped fresh tomato
pinch of sugar
1 1/2 c. shredded chicken, pork, or beef
1 1/2 Tbs. finely chopped green olives
1 1/2 Tbs. raisins
1 1/2 tbs. toasted and chopped almonds
1 Tbs. capers, chopped
1/4 c. finely chopped parseley
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 c. chicken stock--use if needed

To assemble the chiles:
24 fresh epazote leaves
1/2 c. flour, mixed with salt and pepper to taste
4 large eggs, room temperature (at least 30 minutes out of fridge)
pinch of salt
2 1/2 c. vegetable oil for frying

For the chilies:
Over a medium flame, char the chilies until their skins are black and blistered.  Remove from heat and put in a covered pot to sweat for 5-15 minutes.  When cool enough to handle, peel off skin, taking care to not rip the flesh.  Make a slit in the side and remove seeds, keeping them on the stem (this is important!).  Don't rinse--it will retain more flavor (even though you will be tempted to).

For the Picadillo:
In a frying pan, heat the oil, fry onion until transparent.  Add garlic and saute a moment.  Add tomato and sugar, cook for 5 minutes.  Add shredded meat, and stir, then add olives, raisins, almonds, capers, herbs, and cinnamon.  Add salt and pepper, then stock if needed to moisten filling.

To assemble chilies:
Stuff the cleaned chilies with the picadillo mixture, being careful to not over stuff.  Line the seam in the side with an epazote leaf--to prevent stuffing from falling out.  Dredge in flour.

Separate egg yolks and whites into two bowls.  Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.  add yolks all at once and beat 30 seconds more.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large frying pan, heat oil until smoky.  Pass each chili through the batter, holding on to the chili by the stem, covering it completely in batter (it is amazing how well the batter adheres to the chilies).  Place the chili in the frying pan--with the back of a metal spatula, flick hot oil over the top of the chili to form it's shape.  Using two spatulas, turn carefully to cook on other side--if you rotate on all sides it will be rounder rather than flatter--your choice.  Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.  Continue cooking, 2-3 at a time until done.  Heat in oven until ready to serve.
Serve over a simple tomato sauce and enjoy!