When I posted this picture on Facebook I couldn’t believe how many of my friends wanted the recipe. I’m flattered–and thank you!

Like so many of my recipes, this comes with a story and a cautionary tale! The first ingredient is RUBBER KITCHEN GLOVES. Without them you’ll end up like I did yesterday with burnt hands from roasting and cleaning the peppers. I quickly Googled what to do about the burn you get from roasting peppers and saw suggestions from aloe to ice water. The most unusual was rubbing alcohol. I tried all of the above and even added whipped cream. (You know, they say to drink milk when you’ve had a hot pepper, not water.) Nothing worked, so I just waited it out…with a little non-rubbing alcohol.

You can buy the green chilies in a can, but what fun is that? If you’re brave, read to the end and I’ll show you how I did the peppers.

For The Stuffing
1 cup brown and wild rice (or your favorite rice) cooked according to package
3 green onions, chopped–both white and green parts
8-10 mushrooms, sliced
fajita seasoning to taste
olive oil (just enough to coat the pan, about 1 TBS)
1/2 cup grated pepper jack cheese 
10 oz. rinsed and drained pinto beans (I would have used black beans but didn’t have any–these were good though)
1 corn on cob, roasted and cut off
1 roasted Hatch chile, chopped
1/2 cup grated pepper jack for the topping

Seasonings for the stuffing
chili powder
fajita seasoning 
cumin
Sriracha
fresh parsley, chopped
salt & pepper

I just kept adding and tasting until it was good

For The Sauce
I’m embarrassed to admit how I made this, but here goes. I wanted to use Rotel tomato & green chilies, but mine had expired–a while ago–so I threw that out. Then I thought about salsa–Jake ate the last of it before he left. I searched the pantry for tomato sauce–none. The closest thing I had was a small can of tomato juice. I had to make it work. So here’s what I used:

1 small can tomato juice
La Victoria Salsa Brava
Sriracha
cumin
chili powder
fajita seasoning

I didn’t measure, but kept tasting until it didn’t taste like tomato juice on it’s way to a Bloody Mary.

Putting It All Together

While the rice is cooking (it takes about 45 minutes) saute the onions and mushrooms in olive oil, season and let rest.

This is the brand I used–it’s really good.

Grill the corn. You could probably use canned, but I like the grilled taste.

Here’s the poblanos. I had so much stuffing I had to go pick a couple more.

Chop the green onion and slice the mushrooms.

Saute, season, and set aside to cool while the rice cooks.

When the rice is done, just add all ingredients to the rice pot and stir. Taste and adjust seasonings to make it spicier if you like.

Cut poblanos up the middle in a way that they can sit without tipping over. Remove seeds. (USE GLOVES) Spread them apart a bit so you can stuff them.

Gently spoon in the stuffing.

Arrange in an oven-proof dish so they sort of hold each other up. Add about 1/4 cup water to bottom of pan, cover with tin foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, add 1/2 of the sauce to the bottom of the pan and spoon a little on top of each pepper. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until peppers are almost tender.

Remove foil and add cheese to top of each pepper and cook for 10 minutes until cheese melts. At the end I turned on the broiler to get a nice color.

I know this may sound hard, but it really wasn’t. Just trust your taste buds to have it come out great. 

This is how I served it with a little of the sauce. And the best part–I have leftovers for tonight!

For anyone brave enough to attempt the peppers–here’s what I did. I made a whole bunch of them and then I froze them to use when I need a little kick.

BUT REMEMBER, PUT ON GLOVES.

To Prepare The Peppers

These are the authentic Hatch Peppers–not from my garden. I never knew about Hatch Peppers until last Saturday when the LA Times had a big article about them. You can check it out.

After they’re very black (about 15 minutes) put them in a brown paper bag to cool. The steam helps separate the outer layer of skin.

PUT YOUR GLOVES ON BEFORE YOU DO THE NEXT STEP! 

Pile them on your cutting board and gently rub off the charred skin.

 They’ll look like this. Then take a knife and slice gently down the center. 

Spread them open and with the knife, gently comb out the seeds. (Notice the reflection of my soon-to-be-burnt finger on the knife.)

Whether you roast your own peppers or enjoy them from the Ortega can this is a delicious (and healthy) meal you can share with friends. And as always, Enjoy!

• Arugula Salad with Raspberries, Walnuts and a White Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Sweet and Spicy Grilled Pork Chops and BBQ’d Peaches with a Jalapeno Glaze

Categories: Main Dishes, Sides, Vegetables

Tags: Hatch peppers, stuffed poblanos with pepper jack cheese, stuffed poblanos with rice and beans

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.