Shishito Rellenos
This is a fun spin on Chile Rellenos that uses shishito peppers when they’re in season. Small but packed with cheesy goodness, the fried peppers make a fun dinner side or delicious appetizer for your gathering.
Ingredients
- 8 oz shishito peppers
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend a mix of Asadero, Monterey Jack, and Sharp White Cheddar blend
Tempura Batter
- 1 cup all purpose flour sifted
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- Pinch of kosher salt & black pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 cup ice water
Flour Coating
- ½ cup masa harina, sifted you can also use all purpose flour
Garnish Options
- Flaked sea salt & chopped cilantro leaves for garnish
- Salsas of choice for dipping
Instructions
- Rinse your shishito peppers and pat dry with a towel. Using a sharp paring knife, cut a slit on one side of the pepper to create a pocket for the cheese stuffing. Stuff your shishito peppers with your cheese blend and carefully close the peppers to bring the slits together. Repeat with remaining peppers until all are stuffed. Set aside on a plate while you prep you batter and flour mixtures.
- Preheat 1 to 2 cups of neutral oil (canola or vegetable) in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Since the peppers are smaller, you can create a shallower fry versus using more oil for a deep fry. Heat your oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. When the oil is ready, add a small pinch of flour. If it bubbles and crisps up, your oil is ready for frying.
- While the oil preheats, prepare your flour coating and batter. In a medium bowl sift ½ cup of all-purpose flour. Set aside.
- Next, prepare the batter: In a small bowl, sift 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Whisk in the kosher salt, ground black pepper, ground cumin, chili powder, and paprika. In a medium bowl, whisk your egg until the whites and yolk are combined. Add your ice water, using a strainer (if needed) to prevent your ice cubes from falling into the batter. Using chopsticks, or the back of a wooden spoon, lightly stir in your sifted flour to combine. Avoid over mixing; it is okay if the batter is a little lumpy.
- To fry your peppers: take one stuffed pepper and toss in your flour coating. Take your flour coated pepper and drop into your tempura batter and light toss to coat. Add your tempura coated pepper to your heated oil and fry up, turning once, about 1 to 2 minutes on each side until golden and edges are crisp. Remove peppers from oil and place on plate with paper towels to drain off excess oil while you fry remaining peppers.
Notes
Note: For the flour you can also use a 50/50 mix of all-purpose and Masa harina. About ½ cup of each. I've also used ½ cup Sonora flour (search for this online or through a flour share such as Farmer Mai) and a ½ cup of masa harina with great results.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!