Southwestern Style Eggrolls

This meal is based on something we learned and something we brought home from our RV trip out west. The learning – as with this breakfast in Durango, CO, it’s becoming common to wrap chile rellenos in egg roll wrappers rather than use the normal egg batter.

The something – several bags of frozen roasted hatch chiles from Denver.

If you’ve read this blog for a while, you know I occasionally get testy when folks radically change a dish and call it the same thing – names soon lose their meaning.  A chile relleno is one of a variety of chile peppers, stuffed with cheese and/or meat, dipped in an egg batter and fried, and my dish is something different.  In searching the web, I found recipes for Southwestern Style Egg Rolls and my dish seemed to fit them. 

For this dish, I found a recipe for Mexican Stuffed Peppers and adapted the stuffing for our taste and ingredients on hand - at some point, I want to try the original.

Ingredients:

14 anaheim type Hatch chiles – roasted, peeled, seeded, tops removed

1½ small red onion, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 cloves roasted garlic, minced (we just happened to have these from the pepper roasting)

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb. raw Mexican-style chorizo, removed from casings

1 cup cooked rice, optional

3 tbsp. chile verde

2¼ tbsp. dried cilantro, finely chopped

1½ tsp. dried oregano

¾ tsp. of cumin

½ cup sour cream

¾ cup Jack cheese, shredded

¾ cup cheddar cheese, shredded

3/8 cup cotija cheese, grated (I used the on-hand well crumbled Feta)

Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste (after mixing everything together)

14 Large egg roll wrappers

One egg, beaten with 1 tbsp. milk

Chile verde to taste (or sauce of your choice)

Directions:

1. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the burger for about 5 minutes, gently breaking it up with a wooden spoon. 

2. Stir in the onions and garlic. Cook for 2-3 more minutes. 

3. Then add the chile verde, oregano, cilantro, roasted garlic, and cumin. Mix well and cook a couple of minutes before transferring to a large bowl.

4. Cook the chorizo in the same pan, spoon out the rendered fat and add the chorizo to the bowl.  (Cooked separately so the grease could be removed).

5. Add rice, sour cream, and feta cheese to the bowl with the meat mixture and mix until combined. Let set for about 30 minutes for flavors to meld then taste and adjust seasonings.
6. Make an egg wash by beating the egg and milk together.
7. I used this tutorial on making egg rolls and made them as it showed by laying out the egg roll wrapper, adding a chile in the middle, followed by as much stuffing as it would hold.

8. Preheat toaster oven to 200 degrees F and heat a pan of oil to 365*.

9. I cooked the rolls two at a time, turning once, until golden brown and kept them warm on a rack in the oven while I cooked the others.  
10. To serve, I topped them with salsa verde (which was pretty thick from Jan's) and a mix of cheddar and jack cheese and we sided them with refried beans.

We all thought they were very good and Bev commented that the wrapper stayed crispy til the last bite.  As far as I can remember, this was my first time with egg roll wrappers and I will definitely use this process again and try differing fillings (may never buy another pre-made egg roll). 

For this recipe, the three things I’d change are using more green chiles (or salsa verde) but dicing them and mixing with the meat, adding more spiciness (heat) to the filling with pepper powder or jalapenos, and adding the cheese and melting under the broiler prior to adding the chile verde.  

I also might try stuffing the whole roasted peppers (like rellenos) then adding the egg roll wrappers.  Like pasta, pizza dough, eggs, etc., stuffing egg roll wrappers is limited only by ones imagination.

Photos best if enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

10/10/2013 meal date