Rocoto Relleno

From: https://perudelights.com/rocoto-relleno-fire-in-your-mouth/.

Evil black seeds
Flaccid rocotos
Filled rocotos

Topped rocotos Cooked

Note: this recipe requires
the Peruvian Rocoto chilli pepper, a kind of cross between a chilli and a small red bell pepper, and Aji Panca paste.  These can be purchased from Sol Andino on-line and in person in London.
Note: the Rocoto is a weapons-grade vegetable: we recommend wearing gloves when handling them and certainly when touching the seeds/ribs. And never, ever, touch a sensitive part of your body immediately after handling them.
Note: the quantities in this recipe are straight from the original reference above however we have found that there is generally about twice as much filling as required.  We think this is because the Rocoto's themselves vary wildly in size.  You'll find another use for the left-over filling: it is quite tasty.

Serves 10 (one pepper each).

Ingredients

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C.
  2. Carefully cut the top off each Rocoto pepper (keeping the tops); spoon out and discard all of the seeds and the ribs.  Make sure you do a proper job of this or the Rocotos will be too hot to bare.
  3. Bring a kettle of water to the boil, pour it into a pan, add 1 tbsp of sugar, add the peppers and bring to the boil again for 5 minutes.
  4. Discard the water and repeat step 3 a further THREE times, i.e. FOUR times in total; this will make the peppers bearable to eat.
  5. Drain/cool the peppers and put them to one side; you may find that they are somewhat flaccid but that is OK, it is better to thoroughly tame them, they will look fine when their tops are returned.
  6. Fry the beef on a high heat with the Aji Panca paste and bay leaves.
  7. Add the diced onions and fry for a few minutes.
  8. Add the oregano, olives, hard-boiled eggs, parsley and raisins and fry for a few minutes.
  9. Season to taste and add 0.25 tsp sugar.
  10. Place the Rocoto peppers together in an oven-proof dish so that they are held upright.
  11. Fill the Rocoto peppers with the mixture.
  12. Beat two eggs well and place a tablespoon of egg into each pepper.
  13. In a bowl, beat one egg with one can of unsweetened evaporated milk plus salt and pepper to taste.
  14. Pour this mixture into the peppers; letting it overflow is fine.
  15. Put the tops back on all of the peppers.
  16. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the goo coagulates; this can vary depending on how large your eggs were.


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