Radical Rellenos

As usual, we looked through a variety of cookbooks for this upcoming week's meals. Adam found a fantastic looking recipe for empanadas, so we went in search for a main dish to go with these appetizers. We came upon an awesome chile rellenos recipe that we just had to try. It ended up that we didn't make the empanadas, but look for them next week when we will make them for (hopefully) some sort of gathering. We paired the rellenos with some Mexican brown rice and a fresh salad of greens and tomatoes with a lime vinaigrette. We made the rice by preparing it in a rice cooker with only about 2/3 of the usual water, then adding a can of diced tomatoes with juice, a chopped hot pepper, chili powder, cumin, coriander, and salt. This meal definitely left me satisfied.


Poblanos Rellenos (Vegetarian Planet, Didi Emmons)

I would lean on the side of cooking these peppers for a longer time period. We ate ours after 30 minutes in the oven and they were a bit crunchy. We put the rest back in the oven, and I suspect that the leftovers will have a better texture.

15 sundried or other dried tomato slices
1 1/2 Tbs. canola or corn oil
20 pecans or walnuts, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
kernels from 3 ears corn (about 1 2/3 cups)
1/2 tsp. salt
fresh-ground black pepper to taste
6 oz. soft, mild chevre (goat cheese)
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
8 small poblano pepper (or 4 green bell pepper, or 8 Anaheim peppers)

1. Bring 2 cups water to a boil, and pour the water over the dried tomatoes in a small bowl. Let the tomatoes sit in the hot water for 10 minutes. Then drain the tomatoes, and chop them fine.
2. While the dried tomatoes are soaking, heat 1 Tbs. of the oil in a skillet, and add the pecans or walnuts. Cook them over low heat for 3 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time, until the nuts taste toasted; be careful not to burn them. Add the garlic, chopped dried tomatoes, and corn to the mixture. Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat, stirring. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the salt and pepper. Crumble the goat cheese into the mixture, and fold in the cottage cheese and Jack or cheddar cheese.
3. Preheat the oven to 350. Stuff the peppers: Remove the stem, core, and seeds of each pepper without puncturing the sides. Stuff the peppers loosely with the filling, distributing it equally among the peppers.
4. Coat a casserole dish with the remaining 1/2 Tbs. of oil, and lay the stuffed peppers in the dish. Add a scant 1/4 cup water, and cover the dish with a lid or foil. Bake the peppers for 30 to 45 minutes (bell peppers take longer than poblanos), until they are tender. Serve the peppers right away.