Quinoa Stuffed Poblano Pepper in a Tomato Sauce
My husband and I are on yet another diet, which limits our intake of carbs and junk food and to eat in small portions.
Since we’ve moved, it’s been challenging to cook every night when there’s something else always lingering. Like painting a room. It’s been a little over a month now and I’m trying to get back in to the swing of things.
I was craving stuffed peppers and came across these beautiful, dark green poblano peppers at the store. It’s easy to make and there’s a lot of options to stuff it with. Adhering to the low carb mentality, I opted for quinoa.
Serves:
2 with a bit of stuffing leftover
Ingredients:
2 poblano peppers
1 cup shredded cheese (preferably a Mexican blend)
toothpicks
..for the stuffing…
1/2 quinoa
1 cup broth (chicken or vegetable)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 lime, juiced
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup frozen or canned corn
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)
2 teaspoon chili powder
…for the tomato sauce…
2 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoon ketchup (or tomato paste)
S+P to taste
Optional Garnishes:
sprig of cilantro
sour cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚.
In a small saucepan, add quinoa and broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 11-13 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Let stand a few minutes and fluff with a fork.
While the quinoa is cooking, roast the peppers. (See below for roasting instructions) After roasting, carefully cut a slit, making sure not to tear the pepper, from the top (base of the stem) to the bottom tip of the pepper. Remove the seeds. *Caution: you might want to wear gloves to remove seeds!* Wash remaining seeds off with water.
Saute the onions, garlic and jalapenos until onions are fragrant.
Add saute mix to the quinoa, along with the cilantro, soy sauce, lime juice, tomato sauce, corn, cumin, cayenne and chili powder. Mix well.
Once the mixture is done, carefully stuff each pepper with enough mixture to fill the entire pepper. Use toothpicks to secure the opening.
Mix together the 2 cups of tomato sauce and ketchup, add a little S+P to taste and pour it into a baking pan. Spread evenly.
Place the peppers on top of the tomato sauce and put it in the oven. Bake, covered, at 350˚ for 20 minutes. Uncover the peppers and sprinkle with cheese. Continue baking another 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
To serve, scoop some of the tomato sauce at the bottom of the pan onto a plate. Carefully place baked peppers on top and garnish as desired.
PS. Don’t forget to remove the toothpicks!
Enjoy!
How to Roast Peppers
On a gas stove: Place peppers on the burner, making sure they’re close to the flame. Char each side of the pepper until the pepper has a nice burn on all sides. Don’t worry, the cracking noise is a good thing! Remove from the heat once all sides are blackened and place in a zip lock bag. Close the zip and let sit for 5 minutes. Once you remove them from the zip lock bag, place them under cold water and the skins should easily come off!
In the oven: Place the peppers in a baking dish skin side up. Broil ~7-8 minutes, then flip the peppers and broil an additional 7-8 minutes. Place it in a zip lock bag. Close the zip and let sit for 5 minutes. Once you remove them from the zip lock bag, place them under cold water and the skins should easily come off!
