Can you believe I spent £2.20 on 2 poblano peppers? That’s about $4.40 in U.S. dollars - the HEB would never get away with that. But such is supply and demand. And I don’t think many Londoners were stocking up on fresh poblanos this weekend, even if it was Cinco de Mayo. But I couldn’t pass these up when I found them at Borough Market last Thursday. It’s been ages since I had a stuffed poblano.
I made these up on the fly; the result blew both Tim’s and my minds. The pepper is stuffed with a mixture of quinoa, tvp and corn, topped with a ranchero sauce adapted from Biker Billy’s Freeway-O-Fire, then baked for about 40 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and the pepper just starts to blacken and blister.
We devoured these with some of Tim’s refried beans and an episode of Deadwood. I think our Mexican cooking has only improved with the distance from Austin. Or maybe it’s our tastes that have changed. Either way, these rock!
Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Chili Sauce
These can easily be made vegan by omitting the cheese. To obtain the richness of the cheese without the dairy, try adding toasted pine nuts to the stuffing, or garnishing with a few slices of avocado.
2 poblano peppers
1 batch of ancho chili sauce (see recipe below)
Quinoa, cooked
Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), soaked in water with a bit of Braggs
Corn
Pinch of Cumin
Salt
Parsley, chopped
Cheese (optional)
Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F.
Cut a hole in the peppers by slicing a knife around the stem (as you’d cut open a pumpkin). Most of the seed will come off with the stem. Remove any seeds remaining in the pepper, and slice off the chunk of seeds on the stem. Reserve the stems; we’re gonna use these to cap the peppers so that all of the stuffing doesn’t fall out during the baking process.
Make the stuffing. I can’t be more specific on the ingredients; it’s a matter of taste anyway. Start off with equal parts of quinoa, TVP, and corn, then add the cumin, salt, parsley and cheese. Taste it along the way and add more stuff until its yummy. Don’t be afraid to make extra; it can be added to the baking pan for a yummy side dish.
Make the chili sauce. (See below.)
Stuff your poblanos with the mix. Cap the poblanos with the reserved pepper stems.
Put everything in a casserole dish. Start off with a layer of sauce. If you have any extra stuffing, spread this on top. Then put the peppers on top of the stuffing. Pour the rest of the sauce over everything.
Bake away. It takes about 40 minutes. About halfway through, flip the peppers, and spoon some sauce over them. When its almost done, sprinkle a bit of cheese on top everything and leave in the oven until it’s all melty and delicious. The peppers are done when they just start to blister. Most of the sauce reduces, leaving you with a thick tomato gravy.
Chili Ranchero Sauce
About the chilis: I used 3 dried pasilla chilis (thank you, Rachel), which made the sauce only mildly spicy. Biker Billy recommends 1 ancho chili for a real kick, but feel free to experiment. Chipotle could be teh bomb.
3 dried pasilla chilis, stemmed and seeded
1/8 cup boiling water
1 14-oz can of tomatoes, drained, juice reserved
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
salt and pepper to taste
Rehydrate the peppers by placing them in a small bowl with the boiling water. Let cool to room temperature.
Puree the peppers in a blender or food processor with the soaking water and reserved tomato juice. Blitz until no large pieces of pepper remain.
Heat up the olive oil and saute the onion in a large pan. When onions are golden brown, add the ancho puree, garlic, salt, pepper and chopped tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until the sauce just thickens.
For a smoother sauce, puree some or all of it in a blender.
Note: Tim takes better pictures of food then me. Bastard!
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