I love a good, authentic chile relleno as much as anyone, but as Nick over at The Paupered Chef learned, they can be very time- and labor-intensive. But when a craving hits and you just happen to have some chile-braised pork left over, you can bang out a reasonable facsimile pretty easily on a weeknight.

For my simplified version, I charred my peppers over a gas flame and placed them in a plastic bag to steam, then warmed up my shreddy pork in a small sauté pan. For the sauce, I roasted some halved plum tomatoes and peeled garlic cloves, sprinkled with salt and drizzled with a little olive oil, in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, plucking the shriveled tomato skins off when they were cool enough to touch. In the same pan which I used to re-heat the pork (don’t wipe it out – you want to use the tasty pork fat that remains in the pan), I toasted some cumin, freshly grated canela and dried Mexican oregano, then added the tomatoes and garlic, smashing them against the bottom of the pan.

I whipped up an egg batter like the one Nick used, dipping my pork-stuffed chiles into flour before battering them and frying them in a mixture of rendered fatback and canola (I did a shallow fry in our iron skillet), turning them once and removing them to a paper towel-lined plate as they finished cooking. I pressed my chunky tomato sauce through a fine mesh strainer, spooned some onto our plates, added the chiles, some grated cheese, and served them with a side of creamy black beans.

I’m sure these lacked the complexity and depth of flavor of chiles stuffed with a proper picadillo, but this was a great way to use up leftover pork and satisfy my hunger for this favorite dish.

This dish was supposed to happen earlier in the week, but I got sidetracked by sardines, so I put it off for a couple of days. Luckily, the gorgeous poblano peppers I picked up at the Greenmarket on Saturday were still good, so I was able to make chiles rellenos last night.

Chiles rellenos are basically just stuffed peppers, dipped in a light batter and fried until golden, then served on a bed of light tomato broth. The traditional stuffing is picadillo, but it seems the version that appears most often in restaurants in the U.S. is the cheese-stuffed version. I actually prefer the cheesy version, but what I don’t like is ordering rellenos in a restaurant and getting peppers that are encased in such a thick batter that they sit in your stomach like a rock. Making them at home requires a little bit of work, but the result is totally worth it.

To prepare the chiles, place them under the broiler or on a hot grill or burner until the skin is charred and blistered on all sides. Set them aside until they are cool enough to handle, and then carefully peel the skin off. Cut a slit in one side and gently remove any seeds or membranes inside. Stuff each chile with shredded cheese – Monterey Jack, Oaxaca or Queso Quesadilla – and close up the slit with a toothpick. Set the chiles in the fridge for about 20 minutes so they firm up.

For the sauce, I combined a cup of our homemade chicken stock, a cup of crushed tomato, about a teaspoon each of ground cumin and chipotle powder, and a bit of salt in a small saucepan and warmed it over low heat while I got to work on the batter for the chiles. It’s basically Diana Kennedy’s version, though I downsized it just a bit (and still had plenty left over): separate three eggs, add a pinch of salt to the yolks, beat the whites until stiff but not dry, then beat in the yolks one at a time until you have a frothy, pale yellow mixture.

I heated about an inch of oil in a skillet, dusted the stuffed chiles in a bit of flour, dunked them in the batter to coat them, then placed them directly into the hot oil, gently turning them as each side browned. When the chiles were done cooking, I set them on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil and spooned some of the tomato broth onto our plates. I mounded some cumin and lime spiked black beans on top of that, then set the chiles on top.

Wine Pairing: Earlier this week I found a link to pairing wines with typical Mexican ingredients on Rick Bayless’ website, and I was eager to try one of the wines he suggested with our poblanos. Mike picked up this Gruner Veltliner at Union Square Wines, and it was just perfect with our meal, the crispness cutting right through the heat of the chiles.

I’ve been spending a bit of time each week preserving our favorite late spring/early summer produce by cleaning, blanching and freezing things in small batches, so we have been trying hard to make space in our freezer by using up many of our stockpiled proteins. During a recent freezer inventory, I discovered a bag of cubed pork shoulder left over from the piece Mike bought for his last batch of chili. Since the pork was already cut into nice big chunks, I thought it would be fun to season them with a smoky rub, skewer and grill them, and serve them in warm corn tortillas – pork tacos influenced by the ones we get at Matamoros Puebla in Williamsburg.

The cilantro in our garden had gotten so tall that it was beginning to tip over, so I also decided to make my first batch of salsa of the season. While the tomatoes around here aren’t quite good enough yet for a fresh salsa, they work just fine in this version, where the main ingredients are charred over hardwood before being blended to a chunky puree.

To season the pork, I combined a half teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, ground coriander, chipotle powder, smoked paprika and dried oregano, along with one teaspoon each of ground cumin, kosher salt, and adobo from a can of chipotles. I added the pork (about 1 lb.) to the spice mixture and tossed it to coat all sides well, and then let it sit in the fridge until we were ready to grill it.

For the salsa, we placed two whole poblano peppers, four medium-to-large whole plum tomatoes and one red onion (peeled and halved but with the stem end still attached so it wouldn’t fall apart) directly over the hot side of the grill. I also peeled two large garlic cloves, drizzled them with a teaspoon of olive oil, wrapped them up in a small piece of foil and placed that on the grill with the other veggies. We cooked these for about 10-12 minutes total, turning them occasionally. When the skins of the peppers were blackened on all sides and the tomatoes were charred and beginning to split, we pulled them off the grill and I took them inside to cool for a few minutes.

I placed the onion and garlic into a mini chopper and pulsed it until it was chopped pretty fine, then set it aside. I quartered the tomatoes and added them, along with their juices, to my blender. When the poblanos were cool enough to handle, I peeled most of the blackened skin off of them, removed the seeds and stems, and tossed those into the blender as well. The chopped onion/garlic mixture went in next, along with the juice of a lime, a healthy pinch of kosher salt, and a splash of sherry vinegar. I pureed this for just a minute or two, so that it would be relatively smooth but still have some texture, and then I poured the salsa into a bowl and stirred in a handful of chopped cilantro.

While I finished mixing up the salsa, Mike skewered the pork and grilled it (about seven minutes a side, he tells me). He also warmed a stack of tortillas, sprinkled with a little bit of water and wrapped in foil, over indirect heat for a few minutes until they were soft and pliable.

When the pork was done, we pulled it off of the skewers and placed chunks onto our warm tortillas. We topped each taco with a little bit of grated cotija cheese, chunks of radish, and a spoonful of the charred salsa. On the side, I served cumin-spiked black beans, a couple of wedges of lime to squeeze over our tacos, and cold Mexican beer.

The pork and salsa definitely had some heat, but the smoky flavors imparted by the grill, plus the freshness of lime and crunch or radish mellowed them out just a bit. As spring winds down and we head into summer, this was a nice taste of things to come.

I saw a food and travel show over the weekend that inspired me to try a lighter take on chiles rellenos for our meatless Monday dinner. Chiles rellenos are one of my favorite Mexican dishes, but they can tend toward the heavy side with their coating of batter and rich cheese or pork fillings. The dish I saw wasn’t battered at all – the chile was just beautifully roasted and charred, stuffed with a light filling and served atop a smooth sauce. It looked lovely, and I couldn’t wait to try my hand.

This dish needs a bit more tweaking; it was really good, but I think it’s going to be even better in the summer months, when our garden is producing loads of fresh produce and I can char the veggies over hardwood charcoal on the grill. We lucked out and were able to get some really tasty hothouse stem tomatoes at Marlow and Sons, but if you can’t get good fresh tomatoes or if they’re not in season, I think fire-roasted canned tomatoes would work well in the sauce. All in all, I was very pleased with how this turned out, and I look forward to playing with this recipe again.

Black Bean and Roasted Vegetable Chiles Rellenos

4 large poblano chiles
6 medium sized fresh tomatoes, halved
6 whole peeled cloves garlic
Juice of one lime
2 teaspoons good quality chile powder
1/2 teaspoon each ground coriander, ground cumin, and smoked chipotle powder
1/4 cup water
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well
1.5 cups chayote squash cut into 1/2 inch dice (you can substitute zucchini or yellow squash)
1/2 red onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 red or orange bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1.5 cups corn kernels (I used frozen, but use fresh when corn is in season)
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Cotija cheese (a salty, aged Mexican cheese that is similar to Feta)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line two small baking sheets with foil. On the first, lay the tomato halves cut-side down, scatter the garlic cloves around them, season liberally with kosher salt and drizzle with olive oil, rubbing it on all sides of the tomatoes with your fingers. Place squash, onion, bell pepper and corn on the second sheet, season with kosher salt and drizzle with olive oil, and toss through to coat. Place both baking sheets into the oven and allow the vegetables to roast for 25 minutes.

Roast the poblanos over an open flame or under the broiler until the skins are blistered and charred. Using tongs, place them into a sip-top bag, seal it and set aside for a few minutes; the steam will soften the chiles and make them easier to peel.

Spoon the roasted tomatoes and garlic, as well as any accumulated juices, into a blender. Add chile powder, coriander, cumin, chipotle powder, lime juice and water and puree until smooth.

Remove the roasted diced veggies from the oven and add the black beans to the mixture. Toss gently and set aside.

When the poblanos are soft enough to handle, peel them, cut a slit lengthwise from the stem to the bottom of each pepper, and carefully remove the seeds and membranes. I don’t mind bits of the charred skin, but some people don’t like the taste or texture. I find that it’s easiest to peel them and remove the seeds in a bowl of water – it also helps keep those hot pepper oils from clinging to your skin. Set each cleaned pepper aside on a tray or platter and wash your hands well after discarding the skins/seeds.

Ladle a bit of the tomato-chile sauce onto 4 plates. Spoon about 1/4 of the roasted vegetable and bean mixture into each chile, and carefully transfer the stuffed peppers to the center of each plate. Grate a bit of cheese over each pepper and serve.

Wine Pairing: People generally think of beer or margaritas to accompany Mexican cuisine, but I like Karen MacNeil’s suggestion of pairing a peppery Zinfandel with it. Mike picked up a bottle of Ravenswood Lodi Old Vines Zinfandel, and its spicy and rich fruit notes worked really nicely with this dish.