Stuffed Poblanos

That Ezra Poundcake, she's always ahead of the game. I was just about to post about these peppers which we've been making for over a year, and she goes and does a good job of it. We make these peppers quite often, most recently a couple of weeks ago when we decided to be work-week vegetarians. They're simple and usually only require us to pick up the peppers as everything else is stocked in our pantry (Our well-stocked pantry is my crowning glory. I'm very proud of it.). And those peppers, they can be procured a few steps from my house. I do not have to drive for this recipe! It trumps frozen or pick-up pizza.

Stuffed Poblanos from Everyday Food

ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes in puree
• 1 jalapeno chile (ribs and seeds removed, for less heat), minced
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves (2 whole, 1 minced)
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 can (19 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese (we use cabot cheddar)
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 large poblano chiles, halved lengthwise (stems left intact), ribs and seeds removed

directions

1. Preheat oven to 425. In a blender, combine tomatoes in puree, jalapeno, half the onions, and 2 whole garlic cloves; puree. Season with salt. Pour sauce into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine beans, cornmeal, 1/2 cup cheese, remaining onions, minced garlic, cumin, and 3/4 cup water; season with salt and pepper.
3. Dividing evenly, stuff poblano halves with bean mixture; place on top of sauce in baking dish. Sprinkle poblanos with remaining 1/2 cup cheese; cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil.
4. Bake until poblanos are tender, about 45 minutes. Uncover, and continue to cook until sauce is thickened slightly and cheese is browned, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let cool 10 minutes.

I'm lazy as all get-out and I don't have good, fast, efffective knife skills, so I usually chop the onions and garlic in the food processor before I start this recipe. Also, I grate the cheese in the food processor before I start this recipe, without cleaning out the bowl, really. I mean, it's all going to the same place and it saves me time. Even though I don't have to wash dishes by hand anymore, I still try to conserve dishes.

We don't repeat many recipes in this house, but this one, as I said before, is made every couple of months. I tend to cook it less by about 10 minutes or so because I like the peppers to still be crunchy and not so soft. I agree with old Ezra in that the recipe could be tweaked to your interests, but I don't mess with what ain't broken. This is one of our favorites as it is.