Rio Grande Egg Puffs

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons onions, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup mild ground red chili pepper, preferably new mexican,or ancho
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or more)
• 6 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• vegetable oil, for pan frying

Recipe

• 1 for the sauce, warm the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
• 2 add the onion and garlic and saute until soft, about 3 minutes.
• 3 stir in the chile, breaking it into lumps.
• 4 gradually pour in 1 quart of water, stirring to combine.
• 5 bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
• 6 cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it coats a spoon thickly.
• 7 (the sauce can be made several days ahead, then cooled, covered, and refrigerated. reheat before proceeding.) separate the eggs, placing the whites in a nonplastic mixing bowl and the yolks in a separate medium bowl.
• 8 whisk the yolks lightly, just to combine, then add the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• 9 beat the egg whites with a mixer on high speed until they are stiff but not dry.
• 10 gently fold the yolk mixture into the egg whites.
• 11 it's fine to have a few streaks remaining.
• 12 heat 1-inch of oil to 375 degrees f in a large skillet or dutch oven.
• 13 drop a large spoonful of the batter gently into the oil.
• 14 within seconds it should puff up to be about double in size.
• 15 fry briefly until golden-brown and crisp, turning as needed to cook evenly.
• 16 remove with a slotted spoon and drain.
• 17 cut into the fritter to verify that is has cooked through but is still moist with a nearly melting center.
• 18 adjust the oil temperature a bit if necessary to get the desired result.
• 19 fry the remaining fritters a few at a time until all the batter is used.
• 20 spoon chile sauce on a platter and arrange the fritters over it.
• 21 serve immediately, passing any remaining sauce separately.