As part of the celebration of Local Foods Week, I’d like to share a recipe that quickly became a favorite in our household.

Last weekend, we bought poblanos at the Olde Worthington Farmers’ Market.  After falling in love with chile rellenos on vacation out West this summer I’d been wondering if I could make something just as tasty without frying it.  Turns out it’s possible!

In no way, shape or form will I pretend to think that what we made was healthier than a chile relleno, but oh was it tasty!

Ingredients:

• 2 poblano peppers
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 link cured chorizo (or 4 oz fresh)  *see vegetarian note below
• 4 Tbsp chopped parsley
• salt
• pepper
• 1 1/2 cups cooked rice (we cooked it in beef broth to up the flavor quotient)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Remove tops from peppers and reserve. Remove & discard ribs & seeds.  Set aside on an oiled baking sheet.
3. Sauté chorizo in a tsp or two of olive oil over medium heat for 3 mins–you wont need much oil since the chorizo will give off its own luxurious fat. Add the onion and sauté another 3 mins or until onions are fully transluscent. Take care not to burn the onions, adding more oil if necessary.
4. Add rice to the pan and toss gently just to combine. Add parsley and stir once more.  Taste the mixture and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper (or paprika even) if you like.

   

5. Pack stuffing into reserved peppers and place the tops back on the peppers.  I chose to secure the tops with toothpicks since I knew the peppers would be laying on their sides during cooking.
6. Bake/roast at 375 F for 20 – 25 mins, carefully turning once or twice to ensure even browning of the outer layer. You want the pepper cooked, but not falling apart.
7. Let cool about 5 – 10 minutes and gently peel as much of the skin as you can from the peppers. It can leave a bitter flavor for some people.  This was the hardest part of the entire recipe, but if you’re gentle and realize it’s not a race it’s no big deal.

*Vegetarian note:  You could easily make this and simply leave out the meat. You could also add pre-cooked beans (rinsed/drained) to the rice mixture once the onions have been cooked.

Goat Cheese Sauce

Toss 2-3 oz softened goat cheese in a bowl and blend with a few Tbsp olive oil plus salt and pepper.  Keep blending until you get an unctuous creamy sauce–I added a tsp or two of milk to help thin the sauce.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.

The rest is simple math:

plate + pepper (halved) + goat cheese sauce + paprika garnish = OMG moment

This is another method type of recipe where the basis is prepping a vegetable ready for stuffing.  With the basic process out of the way, there’s room for all sorts of substitutions.  Various types of rice, different types of protein, an assortment of vegetables to be stuffed. So many possibilities.

What veggies do you like to stuff?