This wonderful amalgamation is brought to you by the beautiful late-season peppers populating Andrews Farm here in Gardiner. Our jalapenos have come and gone but they are resplendent in sweet long red, yellow, and orange peppers (whose name I do not know), green chilis (graciously and mostly for us!), and poblanos. As other crops have struggled this year, the peppers seem to be happy!
And every now and again, my mother gets the urge to make Puerto Rican pasteles — a yummy tamale-like package made of green plantain and yucca root and filled with savory pork bits, topped with olives and wrapped in banana leaves and parchment paper, and she’s nice enough to share. They’re yummy, and go great with these stuffed poblanos.
But there are ways to make these poblanos as a main dish, too. One way is to add chicken or fried tofu to the stuffing mix, and another is to add pre-cooked rice to the meal or even under the peppers as they bake. That would pretty much suffice to make it a full meal for us, but it works as a nice side for these pasteles, too (or a pork roast or chicken). They are super easy and full of cheese (as my friend, Sam likes to say, “I’m full of cheese and confused!”).
Stuffed Poblanos
Serves 6 as a side dish
6 Poblano Peppers, cored and slit down one side (but remain whole)
8 oz. Cream Cheese
4 oz. Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
1 lb. Corn kernels (we used frozen fire-roasted this time, but corn is easy to strip from the cob and freeze, cooked or fresh, it’s a very handy freezer item)
Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
1 tsp Mexican Oregano
1 tsp Aleppo Pepper (or Paprika)
1 Tbsp Oil of choice for baking
Queso Fresco (I’ve discovered I can get affordable 8 oz. rounds, I use as needed, for garnish), optional
2 cups cooked Rice, of choice, optional
Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt, optional
Lime wedges, optional
1 cup shredded cooked Chicken or Roasted/Fried Tofu (I like to cube the latter, marinate for an hour or so in Amino Acids/soy sauce and garlic – if possible, toss in Brown Rice Flour and lay out on an oiled baking sheet, drizzle with a little more Olive Oil/or oil of choice, and bake at 375 degrees until crispy, about 20 min, flipping about halfway through to crisp up all sides, use accordingly) — all optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 3″ deep baking dish, drizzle a little Olive Oil/oil of choice.
In a Large Bowl combine Cream Cheese, shredded Jack Cheese, Corn, Sea Salt/Black Pepper, Oregano, Aleppo (or Paprika) and mix thoroughly. Gently open Poblano Peppers and fill with cheese mix. Place in deep baking dish alone or atop cooked rice and cover with foil or baking lid.
Bake 30 min, then remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes to crisp edges (I add a little Paprika or Aleppo here on top, too).
Serve with rice, if desired, and a sprinkling of Queso Fresco and maybe even a dollop of Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream and a spritz of Lime.
Happy Peppers!
Rock Bottom Homestead 