Corn Stuffed Poblano Peppers

This recipe comes from the food network. It's a a very nice and satisfying vegetarian meal. 

I serve this with rice (saffron rice with finely chopped cilantro and parsley) or lightly fried rice and beans. I use the rice as a bed for the peppers. I had some leftover rice and beans and added about a 1/4 c of chopped tomatoes and then pan fried the rice with some chicken broth on medium-high heat. 

I added an avocado to the filling as well which adds some creaminess to the texture since I replace the cream with greek yogurt. 

If you really are jonesing for some kind of protein in this recipe or your significant other demands it, I recommend cooking an 8 oz chicken breast and dicing that up and adding it to the corn filling. That way you get the meat vibe, but the poblanos stay the main attraction of the meal.

Total time - about 1:10 hour
Prep 20 minutes
Cooking 50 minutes

Ingredients


6 poblano chiles (poblanos are often mistakenly sold as pasilla peppers)
2 T vegetable oil
1 t ground cumin
Kosher salt
4 ears corn, shucked
1 large bunch scallions, roughly chopped
1/4 c crema or creme fraeche (substitute 8-10 oz of greek yogurt)
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Grated zest of 1/2 lime, plus the juice of 1 lime
1/2 c crumbled cotija cheese (substitute feta or ricotta salata)
paprika
1 medium avocado - diced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Put the poblanos on a baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1/2 teaspoon cumin and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Roast until they begin to brown and soften, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the corn on another baking sheet, brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cumin. Roast until slightly golden, 15 minutes; turn, add the scallions and roast 15 more minutes. Let cool.

Cut a 2-inch slit lengthwise into each pepper, remove the seeds and open the peppers slightly. (Peel the skin, if desired.) (Don't worry if slit opens the pepper completely. You can fold it over the filling.) Remove the corn kernels from the cob; add to a bowl along with the scallions, then scrape in the milk from the cobs using the back of a knife. Stir in the crema, cilantro, avocado and the lime zest and juice. Season with salt. 

Spoon the corn mixture into the peppers. Sprinkle the filling with cotija cheese, and sprinkle paprika over the cheese. Return the peppers to the oven and bake until the cheese is slightly golden, about 8 minutes.

Garnish with salsa. A tobasco style pepper sauce would also go well with this dish. 

Rice and Beans recipe

1 c rice

1/2 15 oz can black beans

1 small red onion sliced

3-4 cloves garlic sliced

Olive oil

1/4-1/3 c chopped tomatoes (pomi brand are excellent)

Salt, pepper, dried oregano

Chicken broth

Cook the rice. 

In a medium sauce pan, sauté the garlic and onions in olive oil until they start to caramelize. Add the beans, season with salt and pepper and dried oregano. Cook for a few minutes and then mix in the cooked rice. 

Add the tomatoes and mix well and let cook till the rice starts to stick to the sauce pan. Add some chicken broth (couple tbsp) and scrape the pan. Let the broth cook off. Turn down to low to keep warm till everything is ready to serve. 

Chicken Breast

1 8 oz boneless skinless chicken breast

Salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

Salt and pepper the chicken breast. 

Heat a small oven-safe pan to medium-high heat (on the high side). Add some olive oil and sear the chicken breast till nicely browned on both sides (about 4 minutes to a side). Then put the pan into the oven with the peppers and/or corn and let cook about 20 minutes. My oven is old and inconsistent so I check it at 15 and then at 20 and let it cook longer if necessary. 

Once the chicken is done, remove from the oven and let it rest in the pan for 5-7 minutes. Then dice the chicken and add to the corn filling. Make sure to cut the chicken into a small dice so it blends with the corn and avocado.