Chili Rellenos Casserole with Pine Nuts
One may wonder if there aren’t already enough chilies and cheese on the menu, but these are so good they had to be included, besides if vegetarians are present, this serves as a main course for them. Instead of Pablano or Jalapeño peppers, which were used in the salsa, Ortega chilies are used here. One can start with whole fresh chilies by roasting them to a blister, cleaning the stem and seeds, and scraping off the skin of each one, but when a lot of them are needed it is a lot easier to use the canned whole chilies, cleaned, roasted and ready to go. This recipe is easy with making it into a casserole instead of cooking each pepper separately.
Ingredients:
1 pound canned whole green Ortega chilies
1 pound cheddar cheese, shredded
1 pound Jack cheese, shredded
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup of whole milk
¼ cup yellow corn flour
¼ cup pine nuts
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
Directions:
Use the tablespoon of oil to coat the bottom of a 9” x 13” pan. Drain the chilies and lay them out flat to cover the bottom of the pan, skin side down. Cover the peppers with a mixture of half of each cheese, mixed together, and sprinkle half of the pine nuts evenly. Lay down another layer of the chilies, with the remaining cheese and pine nuts. Beat the eggs, flour, milk, baking powder, garlic powder and salt together, and pour it carefully over the chilies and cheese. Bake the pan in a 350ºF. (180ºC.) oven for 30 minutes.
Note: Be sure to serve the main course and the side dishes with plenty of sour cream, up to 2 cups, to cool the palate, but also the addition of a cup of chopped chives, to add to any of the offerings.
Correspondences:
The eggs, milk, and sour cream are of water. The jack and cheddar cheeses are of earth, and baking powder is air of earth. Ortega chiles, chives, and sunflower oil are of fire, and corn flour, garlic powder, and pine nuts are air of fire.
