Since we moved to Denver, we’ve been loving the Hatch green chiles, and green peppers infused into so many restaurant menu dishes. The southwestern flavors and ingredients are really celebrated here and they are perfect for warming up those cold mountain days and nights. We were looking for a meatless dinner recipe, so I combined pieces of two recipes I saw online, Quinoa Stuffed Poblano Peppers from The Live in Kitchen and Chipotle Lime Chicken Stuffed Poblano Peppers from Farmstead Chic and put my own spin on it! Our oven takes some time to warm up, so I didn’t want to take the time to season and pre-heat a cast-iron skillet. So, I went the easy route and broiled the peppers on a baking sheet, and let them rest while the quinoa cooked. I added some seasoning to the quinoa and combined some ingredients in that one pot to have one less pan to wash.
Ingredients
Peppers
- Poblano Peppers – as many as you’d like
- Olive Oil
- Cumin
- Chili Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Tomato Paste
- Vegetable Broth
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 can of black beans
- 1/2 cup chopped onions
- 3 diced garlic cloves
Avocado Crema
- 1 ripe avocado
- Juice from 1/2 of a lime
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Set oven to Broil
- Place peppers on a lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper or favorite seasoning like Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning
- Broil peppers for 10 minutes until charred
- Place peppers in a bowl and cover to rest for 10 minutes
- Turn oven temperature down to 375
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a medium saucepan
- Add chopped onions, garlic to pan and stir until onions are opaque
- Rinse 1 cup of quinoa and add it to the pan to toast for 2 minutes
- Add 1 tbsp tomato paste and stir to get the red color mixed in
- Add cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili pepper spice, salt and pepper to taste and stir
- Add 2 cups vegetable broth
- Simmer until quinoa is cooked – about 15 minutes
- Combine cooked quinoa with diced yellow peppers and black beans
- Peel off charred skins of the peppers with your fingers or a fork – it’s okay if you don’t get it all. Cut the cooled poblanos in half, removing the seeds. (*I would leave the stems on next time and just make a slice down the center of the top of the pepper to truly make the “stuffed”). The seeds will come right out with a spoon or knife because they are soft.
- Place the peppers back on the pan and spoon the quinoa mixture into the peppers
- Place the pan of stuffed peppers back in the oven at 375 for 15 minutes to warm
- While they are cooking, use a mixer – hand-held works well – to whip the avocado, lime, and olive oil to make an avocado cream for the top. The coconut avocado drizzle sounds great too from Farmstead Chic!
