Stuffed Poblanos with Red Chile, Chorizo, and Black Beans

It’s a punch in the mouth full of chile flavor that will leave you satisfied for a long time and will have you looking forward to leftovers. The poblanos reheat in the oven so nicely you won’t even know they’re leftovers.

A reader (not the first one) recently gave me a suggestion to not include basic kitchen techniques so my recipes are shorter. I always included the details because if you’re in the kitchen for your first time, I want to give you the tools to be able to follow along. I understand her point in that sometimes there’s so many details, you can get lost in the recipe and miss an important step.

I added a cooking technique page to my site. It’s sparse at the moment, but will add things to it as they come up in recipes. I’ll also add things that I will continue to include in my recipes (like browning meat to make a gravy) on that page as well so you can use it as a reference tool when you make other recipes.

Stuffed Poblanos with Red Chile, Chorizo, and Black Beans Ingredients
1 lb Mexican (loose) chorizo
6 Tbl red chile powder
4 Tbl green chile powder
½ c water
3 c chopped onion (about 2 small onions)
2 c chopped red bell pepper (about 2 large pepper)
15.25 oz can of black beans
2 Tbl minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
2 tsp cumin
2 Tbl oregano
8 oz  cream cheese
12 poblano peppers
6 oz cheddar cheese
Cilantro (garnish)

Stuffed Poblanos with Red Chile, Chorizo, and Black Beans Directions
Preheat oven to 350.

Put 1 lb chorizo in a pan on medium high heat. You want it to sizzle and continue to sizzle. When the underside is cooked, flip it over with a spatula. Use the edge of the spatula to break up the cooked part. Keep repeating it until you have small pieces. Allow it to cook until it’s dark brown.

Turn the heat down. You should have grease in your pan. If you do not, you will need to add about 2 Tbl oil (whatever kind you have). Add 6 Tbl red chile powder and 4 Tbl of green chile powder. You need the fat so your filling will not feel grainy. Stir until it’s fully incorporated. Slowly add ½ c of water while stirring.

Add 3 c chopped onion and 2 c chopped bell pepper to the pan. Turn up the heat to about medium. Allow the onion and bell pepper to soften.

When the onion is clear, drain the can of black beans. Add the black beans, 2 Tbl minced garlic, 2 tsp cumin, and 2 Tbl oregano to the pot and stir to incorporate.

Cut the 8 ounces of cream cheese into 16 pieces. No need to count. It’s just to try to get it to melt quicker. Add the cream cheese to the pot and stir. Taste. The mixture should be very thick, but not dry. If it is dry, add a couple of Tbl of water and stir. Taste and add salt if needed, but most likely you won’t need to do that.

Lay the poblanos down and cut off the stem end to create an opening. Remove the big hunk of seeds. The stranded seeds can stay in there – it won’t hurt anything. Put the stuffing into the peppers. Some peppers won’t be as hollow as others and that’s ok, roll with it.

After the peppers are stuffed lay them on a sheet pan. 12 peppers will fit tightly on a ½ sheet pan. You can use Pyrex if you like. Just make sure you have sides on the dish.

Put the peppers in the oven and bake about 45 minutes or until the peppers are soft.

Grate the cheese on the large holes of a grater. Sprinkle it on top of the peppers and allow to bake about 5 more minutes.

Remove it from the oven. Take cilantro (leaves and stems) and stack the leaves as best you can. Slice thin strips then rock your knife back and forth until the pieces are the size you want them to be. Top the peppers with cilantro right before serving.

Notes
There’s Spanish Chorizo and Mexican Chorizo. They are not the same thing. In this dish, it doesn’t matter what you use. Spanish chorizo is sold in links so you’ll need to cut it fine if you go that route. If you can’t find chorizo, use ground beef or pork and add salt. You might need to increase the amount of spices.

I am not trying to burn your mouth off. Poblanos are mild peppers so that part is good. The green and red chile powder can pack heat. Make sure you use the appropriate heat level. I do not recommend reducing the amount of chile used because you will lose flavor.