I grew up eating one of the most popular Mexican dishes out there; chiles rellenos.  Chiles rellenos are stuffed Poblano chiles. The stuffing can either be Asadero cheese, Queso Freso or a blend of mashed potatoes and cheese stuffing, meats or shrimp (my family has a recipe for Shrimp Chiles Rellenos, oh so good).  There are many stuffing choices out there.  The stuffed chiles are then dipped in batter and, finally, fried. They are served with rice, or served in a tomato “caldo”, or broth. I’ve waaay oversimplified the recipe. The real process is a more delicate and complicated process, which is why rajas con crema are my favorite. They have some of the ingredients and flavors of the chile relleno, but without all the work. Ok, maybe not all the way the same as chiles rellenos, but let me explain my reasoning… Growing up my sister and I helped mom in the kitchen, so I learned early on about cooking techniques. On chile relleno night, which was typically during Lent, we’d help prepare and cook chile rellenos. We’d get assigned tasks, either roasting, pealing and deseeding the chiles, or chopping veggies, or making the rice, or, the most dreaded task of all, making the egg batter. I HATED making the egg batter!  My mom expected the egg batter to be fluffy and perfect, so when it wasn’t, which happen many many times when I was tasked with making it, before I eventually mastered the technique, she’d scold me for not doing it right. The pressure made me hate the task.  And to this day, I don’t like to eat the fried egg batter; I was traumatized.  So when I first tried rajas con crema, way back during my high school years, at my best friend’s home, I instantly fell in love.  In my head, rajas con crema is the equivalent of chiles rellenos.  Some might not agree, but that’s ok, this is how I deal with my childhood trauma =)

The dish contains the main ingredient in the chile rellenos: chile poblano. For me, it’s a quick fix for when I’m craving a chile relleno, but don’t feel like doing the tedious work involved with the chiles rellenos. Rajas con crema, translates to “slices” of chile in a cream sauce. The dish comes from the southern, and central, regions of Mexico and has many variations, depending on the region. We eat it as a main dish, on Mexican rice. We also have it as a side dish, especially when we grill chicken or carne asada. It’s great in tacos or in burritos. It can be a topping for nachos or as a dip.  I hope you enjoy the dish as much as I do.  Since this will be my recipe for the class cookbook project, I’ll only provide the list of ingredients here, but the rest of the instructions, and pictures, will be on the recipe.

Ingredients:

8 chile poblanos

onion

Roma tomatoes

chiles jalapeno or serrano

cilantro

garlic cloves

Mexican sour cream

cheese; Oaxaca Sheese, Asadero & Monterrey Jack cheese

Queso fresco

Salt

Pepper

Cumin

Tomato bullion (also known as consome Knorr)