Stuffed Poblano Peppers with quinoa/portabello/corn and beans with Smoked Gouda or Cheddar

The poblano is a mild  chili pepper originating in the state of Puebla, Mexico. Dried, it is called ancho or chile ancho, from the Spanish word ancho ("wide"). Stuffed fresh and roasted it is popular in chiles rellenos pablanos. While poblanos tend to have a mild flavor, occasionally and unpredictably they can have significant heat. Different peppers from the same plant have been reported to vary substantially in heat intensity. The ripened red poblano is significantly hotter and more flavorful than the less ripe, green poblano.

Preparation methods include: dried, stuffed, in mole  sauces, or coated in whipped egg (capeado) and fried. It is particularly popular during the Mexican independence festivities as part of a dish called chiles en nagada, which incorporates green, white, and red ingredients corresponding to the colors of the Mexican. This may be considered one of Mexico's most symbolic dishes by its nationals. It is also usually used in the widely found dish chile relleno. Poblanos are popular in the United States and can be found in grocery stores in the states bordering Mexico and in urban areas.

After being roasted and peeled (which improves the texture by removing the waxy skin), poblano peppers are preserved by either canning or freezing. Storing them in airtight containers keeps them for several months. When dried, the poblano becomes a broad, flat, heart-shaped pod called a chile ancho (literally "wide chile" or "broad chile"). These dried ancho chiles are often ground into a powder used as flavoring in various dishes. "Poblano" is also the word for an inhabitant of Puebla, and mole poblano refers to the spicy chocolate chili sauce originating in Puebla.

I don't like the chile relleno that they serve in typical Mexican restaurant because it is overloaded with egg batter cover. I like to had it once in a Mexican in downtown which had corn and black beans filling, it was not bad,  little bland for my taste so I decided to my own version of these stuffed peppers.  You can roast the peppers ahead of time and can make the filling ahead of time and then when you are ready to serve them just stuff them and bake them in oven.

For cheese you can use any shredded cheese like Gouda, smoked Gouda,  white or  yellow cheddar, pepper jack, or blend of Mexican cheese.  Sane goes for sauce to serve you can serve with salsa, or taco sauce or avocado salsa, and or guac and or sour cream. Basically you can not go wrong with it. The longest time is for to roast the peppers and make the filling.  Here is how I made them.

Ingredients: 

• 8 Poblano peppers
• 1 can of black beans drained
  
• 1 can of corn kernel drained  (you can use frozen corn)
• 1/2 cup quinoa (you will end up with 1 cup of cooked quinoa)
  
• 1 cup  of water to cook quinoa
• salt to taste to cook quinoa
  
• 1 8 oz pack of baby portobello mushroom chopped
  

• 1 green pepper and 1 jalapeno chopped
  
• Finely chopped tomatoes, I used fresh diced tomatoes for pica de Gallo ( 8 oz tub)
  
• 1 yellow onion finely chopped
• 1 red onion finely chopped divided in half
  
• 5-6 cloves of garlic finely chopped
  
• 1 table spoon of Taco seasoning or to taste
  
• 1  table spoon of Ancho chile seasoning if you have it, if not no worries
• 1 table spoon of ground cumin
  

• 3 tablespoon of oil
  
• 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds
• cooking oil spray 
• 1 small bunch of cilantro or to taste finely chopped
• Lime juice from 1/2 fresh lime
• 1/4 cup of chunky salsa
  
• 1 8 oz pack of shredded  Gouda cheese
• 1 8 oz pack of cheddar or pepper jack cheese
• Taco sauce or avocado salsa
• Guac and sour cream if desired for toppings
  

Method: 

• First thing to do is roast the poblano peppers.
• You can do it on open flame or in broiler in oven.
• Flame roasting peppers is the fastest method.
• Just place the pepper on open flame holding it with a tong and  flip it every min and let the skin char and blacken.
• Remove it from flame and let it cool enough to handle. Repeat the process for all peppers.
  

• You can place them  in  plastic bag and seal it and let the steam loosen the skin.
• If you are using the broil method which is what I did, preheat oven to broil.
  
• Place the poblano on baking sheet covered with aluminum foil and spray each poblano peppers with cooking oil on all sides. 
•  Broil on high for 10-15 min or until the skin puffs up and chars and loosens from pepper flesh.
  

• Flip them half way through the process to get both sides.
• Once they are done you place them in plastic bag and seal it and let the steam loosen the skin.
• I just left them on aluminum foil and let them cool and peeled the skin off as they cooled.
• You can use either method.

• Once the skin is removed, you can cut he pepper in half and remove the seeds carefully. 
• Set them aside.
  

Filling:

• Rinse 1/2 cup of quinoa.
  
• Place rinsed  quinoa in sauce pan, add 1 cup  of water and little salt. (to taste)
  
• Cook it  uncovered on medium-high  heat until all the water is absorbed.
• Remove it from heat and cover it and let it stand for 5 min.
• Remove the lid and fluff it up with fork.
  

• You can drizzle little olive oil before fluffing the quinoa with fork so it does not become mushy. I used the minced garlic that comes with olive oil for extra flavor, but plain olive oil drizzle would do.
• Set aside.
  

• Now to prepare the filling you can take 3 tables spoon of oil in wok on medium high heat.
• When oil is hot add cumin seeds, when these crackle, add chopped one yellow onion and half chopped red onion and chopped mushrooms.
• Saute until golden light brown, add  chopped peppers and salt to taste saute for additional few minutes then add quinoa. 
• Toss well and add chopped tomatoes, drained corn and black beans.
  

• Add all the dry spices, lime juice, chunky salsa and salt if needed.
• Mix gently until everything is well incorporated.
• Turn the heat off
  
• Add chopped cilantro and half of chopped red onion.
• Preheat the oven to 375 F.
• Take a baking dish and spray with cooking oil spray.
  

• Spoon the filling and stuff each pepper half with stuffing and  cheese.
• Sprinkle extra cheese and put the baking dish in oven. 
• You can drizzle taco sauce or avocado salsa on peppers before baking. 
  
• Bake uncovered for 10-15 min or until cheese is melted.
  

• Serve hot with desired topping of guac and sour cream or just drizzle with salsa.
• If you have additional filling left you can even top each pepper with additional filling. 
• Any which way you serve it, you can not go wrong with it.
  

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So,  I gave you a basic recipe, you can play with the fillings as desired  and Enjoy !!

Information source on Poblano pepper: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poblano
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_3.0_Unported_License

Recipe and  Photographs by Surekha.