Santa Fe Inspired Quinoa Stuffed Poblanos
Every time I visit Santa Fe, I return inspired and revitalize. The art, the food, the scenery undoubtedly has a lot to offer. It exudes an invisible, creative energy that you can feel for a long time. No wonder so many creative people moved and established in Santa Fe and nearby areas.
This quinoa stuffed poblano pepper idea was an inspired creation after one of my trips to Santa Fe. The Santacafe restaurant, where I first tried quinoa stuffed baked rellenos, inspired me to experiment with poblanos and quinoa and allowed me to come up with this modern take on classic rellenos.
Here is my southwestern version of succotash and classic rellenos stuffed with quinoa, butternut squash, black beans, and corn.
Roasting the poblano peppers.
Poblanos are dark green peppers prevalent in Latin and Mexican cuisine. Usually they are mild, but occasionally you can have a hot ones.
To roast them I put them on a wire rack and placed them under the broiler for 15-20 minutes. You just need to blister the skin and soften the peppers a little bit.
Try to remove the skin as much as possible. Then make a slit from the stem to the tip. Carefully remove the seeds and discard.
Making the quinoa.
The base of the filling is the quinoa, which are seeds of a plant related to spinach and amaranth. For the past 10-15 years, quinoa took over the culinary world because it’s naturally gluten-free. In addition, it’s packed with nutrition and complements nicely with almost anything due to its subtle taste.
Quinoa has a natural coating, called saponin, which gives it a bitter and soapy taste. Although commercial quinoa most likely went through a cleaning process, I like to give it a rinse.
I soak the quinoa for 15-30 minutes and then cook in a water per packaging instructions.
You can saute the diced vegetables separately until cooked, but I like to add them to partially cooked quinoa. I add my spices as well, and let them cook together to marry the flavors.
Assembling and baking
Once you have peppers roasted and filling ready, it’s time to assemble the dish.
Generously fill the peppers with the filling, drizzle with olive oil and spoon some homemade tomatillo salsa verde or store-bought salsa. Bake for 20-30 minutes in 375 oven.
Santa Fe Inspired Quinoa Stuffed Poblanos
Ingredients
- 6 poblano peppers leave whole with stems on
- 1 –2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
- ½ squash butternut, dices
- ½ cup corn fresh or frozen
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup Tomatillo Green Salsa
- 1/2 cup Chipotle Crema
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Arrange the poblano peppers on a sheet pan and roast for 20-25 minutes until the skin is charred and blistered.6 poblano peppers
- Remove from the oven and either cover with a bowl or place theme in a plastic bag to be able to peel easily.
- Meantime prepare the filling.
- Presoak the quinoa for 30 minutes.1 cup quinoa
- Rinse and cover with 1 and ½ cup water and season with ½ teaspoon of salt and tablespoon of oil. Cook for 10 minutes until al-dente.1 –2 tablespoons olive oil
- After 15 minutes, add the corn and squash and fluff all together. Add the seasoning. Cover and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.½ squash, ½ cup corn fresh or frozen, 1 teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon cumin
- Once the water is absorbed and the squash is fork-tender, remove from the heat. Add the black beans and chopped cilantro. Adjust seasoning if needed.1 can black beans
- Remove the husk from tomatillos and arrange them on the sheet pan. Add the onions to the sheet pan, along with the whole garlic cloves, and halved jalapeños in a single layer. Drizzle with oil and roast for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove and let it cool.
- Pulse all the roasted vegetables and cilantro in a blender until smooth. You can leave it chunky.
- Add salt and lime juice.
- Peel the poblano pepper skin only if it is coming off easily. Cut a small slit near the stem across the vein. With fingers gently remove the seeds and any veins that are accessible.
- Arrange them on a baking pan, casserole dish, or pyrex glass dish.
- Fill the pepper cavities with the quinoa mixture. Spoon the tomatillo salsa on top of each pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and lime juice.1/2 cup Tomatillo Green Salsa
- Close with foil and bake for 30-35 minutes in 375°F oven.
