Chiles Rellenos with Pico de Gallo

Tues. Jan. 16 -
This recipe began life in Southwest Tastes, but it changes pretty much every time we cook it (see blog for TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2006). The cheap people at Findlay Market had some nice poblanos on Saturday. So I roasted them (the peppers, not the people) that afternoon, and had them ready and waiting. The filling was mostly Colby-jack with just a little goat cheese, and healthy shots of ground coriander and cumin. We use the RobotCoupe to grate the cheese, then use the chopping blade to mix in the goat. This makes a nice crumbly, pea-sized mixture, which you shape almost like modeling clay.
The winter Roma tomatoes were in pretty good nick, so I cubed them, added diced shallots (for a purply look), lots of coriander leaves, one clove of minced garlic and half a lime of juice. No ground spices, as I wanted the pico di gallo to be clear and colorful.
Filled the poblanos with the cheese innards, secured with toothpicks (a somewhat pointless task, really), dipped in a beaten egg, rolled in seasoned cornmeal, and fried in oil. The chiles always seem to have a triangular cross-section, so it's easy to roll each one over when one side is done.
Served on a bed of the pico de gallo. ¡Mucho con gusto!