Keto Chile Rellenos

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This was quite an adventure to make. My partner was kindly given some peppers at the community garden by a fellow gardener. My sister gave me a fab Mexican cookbook some time ago that I love and I watched a video of an amazing woman cooking chile rellenos on a wood stove in Mexico. Both inspired me. I hope you’re inspired too!

Recipe at the bottom!

Step One

Roast 8 chillies over an open flame and place in a sealed container to sweat and cool off, then peel skin off carefully; cut down the centre and remove seeds. Work carefully though, they are fragile.

Step Two

Make a ground beef filling and red sauce

  • BEEF FILLING:
  • 4 tblsp oil
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tblsp dried oregano
  • 2 lbs ground beef
  • 1/2 cup beef stock
  • Salt and pepper
  • Later, you’ll add a bit of the drained tomato juice from a can of roasted tomatoes

Heat the oil, add onions, herbs and spices, crumble in ground beef, add stock and simmer very gently while making the red sauce

  • RED SAUCE (heavenly…)
  • Broth of 2 cinnamon sticks, 1 tsp saffron, 2 red chillies, 2 smoked dried chillies 1 1/2 cup water, simmer until smoked dried chillies are soft
  • Blend up 1 large tin roasted tomatoes (add drained juice to ground beef), 1 onion, 9 cloves garlic, 1 cup of broth, the softened chillies (definitely not the cinnamon sticks and seeds from softened chillies!)
  • Pour red sauce into a pot, warm up gently adding salt, 1/4 cup each keto sugar and olive oil, bring to a simmer

Have ready:

  • 2 cups grated cheese
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • ASSEMBLY OF CHILE RELLENOS:
  • butter a cast iron dish
  • Heat oven to 350⁰F
  • Gently fill each chilli with beef filling, don’t overfill
  • Top each rellenos with sour cream
  • Heap on grated cheese
  • Drizzle over olive oil
  • Sprinkle with oregano
  • Bake 20-25 minutes or until cheese is bubbling
  • SERVING:
  • place a generous serving of red sauce onto plate
  • Lift rellenos out carefully and place on top of red sauce
  • Garnish with fresh cilantro
  • Serve with sliced avocados
  • Side dish options: cauliflower rice, roasted squash, shredded lettuce

It takes some effort! I roasted the chillies the day before. I’m convinced they were easier to peel the next day out the fridge. But totally worth it! Also, you’ll have leftover ground beef and sauce, a win!