Mini chile Relleno Quiches

We love getting recipes from our customers and friends and this is a wonderfully delicious recipe from Mike Graves at Cafe Virtuoso San Diegos Finest Organic Coffee and Tea .  Not only is he a customer (he loves our delicious green chilis) but he is also a fellow vendor at the Little Italy Mercato and we look forward to having a delicious cup of his fresh coffee every Saturday morning at the market.  Thank you so much for your awesomely delicious cup of joe, AND for the amazing Chile Relleno recipe that you took the time to email to us. 

Appetizer: Mini Chile Relleno Quiches  

6-8 sheets of Fillo Factory pastry from an 8 oz. box, thawed if frozen

1/2-1 cup shredded mexican bend cheese
1 Tbs. chopped fresh Cilantro

2 green onions sliced thin

6-7 eggs

1 Avocado
1/2 cups milk
salt and pepper
4-6 small or 2-3 large poblano peppers

Aioli Sauce:

1 cup Non-fat greek yogurt

1 lime, juiced

1 Tbsp dried dill

2 tsp Olive Oil

Mix all ingredients together and let sit.

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Wash peppers and coat with vegetable oil.  Broil until blistered, turning after 4-8 minutes.  Place peppers in cold water or ice-water bath to cool; remove waxy skin, stem and seeds.  Cut into 1/4 in. pieces

Preheat oven to 350˚

Beat eggs, milk and salt/pepper together.

Take two fillo sheets and fold in half, then use a knife to cut the folded piece in half (this makes 2   4-sheet layers approximately 5 in. x 7 in.; you might need to adjust accordingly depending on the size and depth of your muffin pan).  Insert the folded and cut sheet into a hole in the muffin pan and press in to form a shell and allow excess to drape over the side, you may want to use non-stick spray before inserting fillo. 

Once all holes are filled, place a small amount of cheese, followed by chiles and egg mixture; repeat twice to ensure even distribution.

Bake 25-40 minutes or until filling is set and golden. Carefully remove from muffin pan and garnish with avocado, sauce, cilantro and green onion.

Enjoy!

If you try this recipe don't forget to leave us a comment and let us know how much you loved it!

See you at the market!

Quail Eggs Benedict

We always have questions about quail eggs.  They are so beautiful they don't look edible.  But, they are and so good for you too! 
We've had some of our market friends take wonderful pictures of them!


Cass Greene Photography




photo by Jim Singh - Little Italy Mercato

 Quail Eggs have wonderful nutritional value, especially hand raised, well fed birds like the ones at Spur Valley Ranch.  I encourage you to research their value for yourself and you will be amazed at what you learn!

Here is a wondeful colorful recipe that is great for an appetizer, brunch, breakfast or any time meal.  Light and simple and oh so beautiful!

Quail Eggs Benedict (or Green Eggs and Ham at our house ;) )
a creation by our very own Alex Castillo

Spur Valley Ranch Quail Eggs - one for each appetizer
Bread (we used whole wheat toast cut into circles)
Canadian Bacon (or other thin sliced meat)

Pesto sauce:
1/4 c. Fresh Cilantro
1 Anaheim (or other mild) Chili
1tbs Olive Oil
1 lime, juiced.

Equipment:
blender/food processor

To make the Cilantro Lime pesto, add cilantro, chili (cut in half with seeds removed), olive oil and juice from one lime (no seeds).  Blend with a food processor (we used a stick blender) until smooth about 1 minute.  Set aside.

Toast or warm your bread.  We chose regular wheat toast cut into 3" circles with a cookie cutter.  But you can use english muffin, tortillas, pita bread, french bread, crackers etc.

Prepare your quail eggs by carefully cracking the contents out of the shell.  We chose to fry them sunny side up, but you can choose your favorite method such as poaching or scrambling.  At the same time you can heat up your Canadian bacon (or other meat or tofu, bacon, avocado, cheese etc. ).

Assemble your Quail Eggs benedict by layering a piece of toast, canadian bacon, egg and drizzling with the pesto sauce.  Serve with fresh fruit and veggies and garnish with a sprig of cilantro.

Enjoy and let us know if you try our recipe!