Mexican Style Stuffed Poblano peppers make an easy side dish or serve a couple of them as a great vegetarian main. Perfect for meatless Monday.
The making of Mexican Style Stuffed Poblano
Labor Day is behind us. Fall is on the way. You can tell by the way the light changes in the sky; already the sun is coming up lower on the horizon and moving along the garden on a different path. But even with the long shadows; the summer heat has not given up.
At least not in Sonoma County.
My garden continues to thrive, beefsteak tomatoes are finally getting some red to them; beans are beaning, and my peppers seem to be thriving in the hot days, cool nights we are having. A perfect time to make healthy Mexican Style Stuffed Poblano.
You know peppers are good for you right? Well, they are!
When choosing poblano peppers for this recipe, it's best to get ones that are as straight as you can. Of course, it's also important, since the pepper is the star, that you get the freshest ones you can find, if not from your own garden, then the farmer's market or even a Latino market is probably your next best bet. As I always say, the best place to buy ingredients is at a place where the clientele uses those ingredients. My peppers happened to be rather thin, so I wrote this using four peppers, one for each person. If the peppers you find a rather large, then I think two would do, serving only a half of one to each.
These Mexican Style Stuffed Poblano peppers are going to be baked, covered, for about a half an hour, so there is no need to try to remove the skin. It will be tender from cooking. And if you did, I don't think they would hold up at all when you tried to stuff them. I also used Cara's Mexican Style Broken Rice in the recipe, but you could use just plain, ordinary left-over rice if you have it in the refrigerator or even Quinoa. I made a bit of a salsa, with fresh tomatoes, onions, and jalapeño, all but the onion came from the garden, but again, you could use a refrigerated salsa if you wanted, just use something with some chunkiness to give it texture.
After covering the casserole with foil and baking it, I uncovered and put cheese on top. Then I put under the broiler to melt; it may not be pretty, but it tasted great.
LindySez: Remember the pepper test. Poblano peppers, like jalapeños, run from mild to pretty darn spicy. So take a test piece to determine the heat factor. Save the spicier ones for those who like spicy, give the milder ones to the kids 🙂 Also remember to wear gloves when working with peppers, or use the LindySez time-tested method of, after washing your hands, take a finger and touch it to your gums. If you feel any heat, wash them again until you don't. You don't want to get that pepper juice into your eyes, or other parts. It hurts!
Mexican Style Stuffed Poblano
Ingredients
- 4 poblano chilis cut in half laterally, seeds and ribs removed ( it's nice to leave the stem on for presentation. )
- ½ recipe Cara's Mexican Style Broken Rice
- 1 cup canned or homemade, black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn kernels preferably fresh
- ½ cup diced onion*
- 2 jalapeño peppers seeded and diced*
- 1 cup diced tomatoes * if you are using the salsa, skip the onion, jalapeño, and tomatoes portion and use 1 cup salsa
- ½ teaspoon cumin or to taste
- 1 teaspoon chili powder or to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 ½ cups shredded jack cheese divided (or you could use a blend, and you can certainly use as much, or as little as you like)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375 °F Mix together the rice, black beans, and corn.
- If using fresh ingredients, heat a little oil in a sauté pan; add the onion and jalapeño, sauté for about 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes. Cook just until the tomatoes start to break down and give up some of their juices. Add to the rice mixture.
- If using the salsa just add.
- Add ¾ cup cheese along with the cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Mix well; taste and adjust seasonings.
- Place the peppers cut side up in a baking dish; fill with the filling. Cover the pan with foil and place in the oven. Bake until hot, about 30 minutes. Uncover; add the remaining cheese evenly over the top, broil for 3 - 5 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.
G-man! says
Definitely looks like something I'd enjoy putting into my mouth 😉
LindySez says
Twas definitely good G-Man...