Chili relleno grilled cheese sandwich

A deconstructed chili relleno becomes a grilled cheese sandwich.

I love satisfying a craving in a nontraditional way. Mexican is something I crave a lot but there’s not really any great Mexican restaurant nearby to help out. A recent chili relleno craving spurred the idea of deconstructing the popular Mexican dish and creating a grilled cheese with some of the typical ingredients. I still missed the endless guacamole and chips to start, but this spicy, cheesy sandwich definitely kicked that craving to the curb.

Chili relleno grilled cheese sandwich recipe

Yields 1

Ingredients:

• 1 poblano pepper
• 2 slices bread
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/2 tablespoon oil
• 1 cup grated cheese (cheddar, pepper jack or Monterey Jack)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 pickled jalapeño, seeded and chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to high broil. Place top rack in the upper third of the oven. Once hot, place whole pepper directly on the rack and broil until the skin is charred and blackened on all sides, about 10 minutes, turning every few minutes. Place pepper in a bag, seal and let sit for 10 minutes. Remove from bag, peel the outer skin off, slice in half, remove the seeds and set aside.
2. Heat a small skillet over medium heat and add oil.
3. Beat egg and milk in a small bowl and add to skillet once hot.
4. Fold the sides of the egg in to create a rectangular shape, flip and cook on the other side until cooked through. Turn heat off and set aside.
5. Butter 1 side of each slice of bread.
6. Place the pepper on the non-buttered side of 1 slice of bread, top with egg then grated cheese and chopped jalapeño. Place the other slice of bread on top, buttered side up.
7. Heat the skillet over medium heat, place the sandwich in the pan and cook for about 3 minutes per side, pressing down on the top with a spatula to help brown the bread and melt the cheese.
8. Remove from skillet, slice and serve warm.

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