Poblano Peppers for the Win

It’s been a tasty and interesting weekend on many fronts. After a long week at work Friday was a welcome respite - complete with an over the top roasted eggplant (fresh from the garden.) Dan was in charge of dinner on Friday (because I am usually in charge of dinner every day so hey every once in a while I catch a break.) He took one of the freshly picked eggplant and added the following:

2 TBSP balsamic vinegar

1 tsp mustard

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

2 cloves garlic ( to be honest I am sure he did at least 3 - 4)

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 tsp sugar

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined. Toss in the eggplant slices and stir to combine. Place marinated eggplant on a stone cookie sheet (Pampered Chef works well) and lay in a single flat layer. Roast at 425 for 30 - 40 minutes, turning half way through. 

We dipped them in a mayo, lime juice and chili powder sauce - they were delicious!

Fast forward to Sunday - I spent some time in the garden weeding and gathering up the latest harvest, which included poblano peppers. What to do with ALL. THOSE. PEPPERS? Stuffed poblano peppers of course. 

This is a totally new recipe (and pepper for that matter). I’ve had them in dishes but we have never grown them - it’s our first harvest - and OMG they are prolific. 

This recipe takes about an hour and a half to prepare so it’s definitely not something you want to do on a week night when you’re starving after a long day at work. Save this recipe for the weekend when you can enjoy both making it and eating it because it’s worth it - so so worth it. 

Before I go any farther I need to give a shout out to Traci York from Vanilla and Bean - the author of this recipe. I made a couple of small - very small - changes but only because I didn’t have the exact ingredient. 

Roasted Stuffed Poblanos with Smoky Quinoa, Sweet Potatoes and Black Beans

Ingredients

For the Peppers:

1 1/2 C Sweet potato peeled and diced

4 tsp Olive oil 

1/4 tsp Chili powder

6 Poblanos peppers

3/4 C Onion diced small

3/4 tsp Sea salt

1 1/2 tsp Cumin ground

1/2 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Chili powder

1/2 tsp Garlic salt

1/2 C Quinoa rinsed 

1 Can tomatoes with green chilies

1/3 C Water 

2 C Cooked black beans

For the Avocado Cream

1 Medium avocado

Fist full of cilantro

1/2 tsp Sea salt

1/2 a Lemon - juiced

1/4 tsp Cumin ground

Water for thinning

Roast the Peppers:

Set one oven rack to the top of the oven and preheat to broil. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Make one slit in each of the poblanos from the stem to tip (the seeds will be removed after roasting). Arrange evenly on the parchment lined baking sheet. Place under the broiler and roast being sure to turn the peppers every 2 minutes to ensure an even charring. Remove from the oven and place in a paper bag. Tighten down the bag and let the peppers steam for approx 10 minutes. 

Toss sweet potatoes with 2 tsp of oil and chili powder. Spread evenly on a parchment lined baking sheet. Lower the oven temperature to 450F and roast the potatoes until fork tender. Remove from oven and set aside. Lower oven temperature to 350F.

Once the peppers are steamed, carefully peel the skins off the peppers, working the seeds out with a little bit of running water and a gentle knife keeping the peppers in tact as best you can. Pat dry and set aside.

For the Stuffing:

In a medium sauce pot, add the remaining 2 tsp of oil and heat on medium until shimmering. Add the onion and saute' on medium low for about 5-6 minutes or until softened. Add the sea salt, cumin, paprika, chili powder, garlic salt and stir for about 1 minute or until spices are fragrant. Stir in the quinoa, tomatoes and water. 

Bring to a simmer, place the lid on and cook for 15 minutes on low. Uncover, and stir in the black beans and sweet potatoes. Taste for seasoning adjustment and allow to set for about 10 minutes, without the lid on, before stuffing the peppers.

Spray a large casserole dish with pan spray. Carefully stuff each pepper with quinoa mixture. Bake, uncovered in a 350F oven for about 20 minutes or until heated through.

While the peppers are baking make the avocado cream. In a food processor add the avocado, cilantro, salt, lemon, and cumin. Whirl ingredients while drizzling about 1/3 C of water in. The cream should be thin enough to slather or dip. Thin to desired consistency.

Remove the peppers from the oven, top with avocado cream and enjoy!