Keto Chile Poblano Casserole

Poblano Peppers

Wash poblano peppers, towel dry, and with a paring knife, remove the core.

Move your oven rack to the top (chiles about 5 inches from the heating element). Preheat your oven broiler for 5 minutes. Cover a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place your chiles about an inch apart. After 5 minutes of preheating, put your chiles in the oven. Always leave oven door slightly ajar when broiling and do not leave unattended.

Flip the chiles so they can roast on all sides. Once charred throughout, remove from the oven and place roasted chiles inside a plastic bag. Twist the bag lightly and allow the chiles to sweat for about 10-15 minutes.

Peel off the charred skin from the chiles. Once peeled, cut in half and scrape off the remaining seeds with your knife and discard. Once peeled and deseeded, cut into 3 inch pieces – it does not have to be perfect. Reserve about 1/4 or up to 1/2 cup of chile pieces and cut into smaller strips. Reserve for topping. For the remaining chiles, divide in two sections in the same bowl as we will have 2 chile layers for our casserole. Set chile aside. (If your hands are sensitive to working with chiles, please use gloves.)

Ground Beef

(Start cooking ground beef after placing poblanos under the broiler.) In a large skillet, add your ground beef and break it down. (I love my ground beef masher for this!) As it’s cooking, dice your onion and add to skillet. Make sure you brown your meat for more flavor. Do not add too much oil since your ground beef will render enough fat to cook the onions. Salt to taste.

Once your meat is browned, add the minced garlic. Sauté for about 2 minutes. Add the 1 TBSP of tomato paste and mix well. Turn off the heat and set aside. Check for salt one last time.

Custard

In a bowl, whisk two of the eggs. Add the sour cream and heavy whipping cream. Combine well and season lightly with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Cheese

Shred both cheeses and combine in a large bowl. Reserve about 1-2 cups for the topping. Set aside.

Pan

Butter a 9×12 baking dish. At this time, preheat your oven to 350F.

Whip Eggs

For the remaining 7 eggs, separate the yolks from the whites. Beat egg whites till you get stiff peaks. Add back the yolks and whisk them in only for a few seconds, just until incorporated. Set aside.

Assemble

In the buttered baking dish, cover the bottom entirely with half of your poblano pepper pieces. Add half of the ground beef mixture. Over the ground beef, spread half of your shredded cheese. Then pour half of the custard over the cheese—- it will seem like it’s very little custard —- that’s okay. Then spread half of your whisked eggs. Repeat once more: poblano peppers, ground beef, cheese, custard and whisked eggs.

Add the cheese you reserved initially over the last whisked egg layer. Sprinkle the chile poblano strips reserved for the topping.

Bake and Serve

Bake your casserole for about 40-45 minutes, until the top is browned and internal temperature is 165F. Let sit on your counter for 10-15 minutes and cut in 8 portions. Portions will be generous! Serve with a side salad. Enjoy!