Cheesy Chorizo Stuffed Poblanos

Went to the grocery store the other day, looking around the produce department, and I noticed something. The poblanos were huge, I’m sure there’s some kind of agricultural explanation, but they were big. Well, can’t let that opportunity go to waste, best thing to do with a big poblano is to stuff it. So, here we have cheesy chorizo stuffed poblanos, and they are good

There’s nothing new about stuffed poblanos. It’s a classic Mexican dish that has been made for hundreds of years. Chile Relleno (literal translation is stuffed Chile) originated from the city of Puebla in Mexico. It was described as a chili pepper stuffed with minced meat and coated with eggs. We are not going to use eggs we are going to use cheese and lots of it. Because cheese is good. That’s why it called cheesy chorizo stuffed poblanos

We’ll start by looking a bit harder at the main ingredients so we can understand a little more about what this dish will be like when it’s done. It will help us to put together the ingredients list.

Let’s start with the poblano.

It’s the reason for the dish. It’s why I even thought about it. Poblanos are a member of the chili family just like bell peppers, jalapeños and habaneros (the really hot ones). Poblano’s though, are not hot. Their flesh is a little thinner then a bell pepper and they’re not as sweet and juicy but they do have a flavor their own.

To prep the poblanos I’m going to roast them a little. Not cook, I want to soften them, put a little blistering on the outside. It helps with the cooking process when I stuff them. But now, they’re softer and easier to stuff. Plus when you heat an entire poblano you enhance the flavor.

Wash and clean them (read this post Safe Food Prep practices in the Kitchen). Put them whole under the broiler for about 5 mins on each side, keep an eye on them, you just want to see a little blistering of the skin. You’ll notice they’re softer too. Set them aside to cool a bit. Then, handling them carefully cut the stems and seed block out, also, remove any seeds from inside. Just be careful, they can be a little fragile at this point. If you tear one, its OK, they’ll taste just as good

The next ingredient is the Chorizo sausage.

The Chorizo sausage we know here in America is the Mexican version, traditionally made with ground pork and paprika. These days it can be made with many different types of meat ( or non-meat like Tofu). The Paprika is usually replaced with chili peppers that are grown locally. In this recipe I’m using pork Chorizo from my local meat provider. Just be aware, it does bring some heat to the dish. I usually pair my Sour Cream with Cilantro and Lime recipe as a side dish to offset some of that heat

The Holy Trinity

The start of any dish is usually the aromatics, in some cases that can be a Mirepoix or, Holy Trinity (please read this to learn more Mirepoix: The Building Block for the Best Soups and Stews I know it says soups and stews, but this recipe too). Here we’ll use the Holy Trinity; equal parts onion, pepper and celery. To this we will also add a green chili pepper, make sure to remove the seeds and webbing, we want flavor not heat.

Cook those down on a pan over medium heat, till soft, remove from pan and set aside. Remove the Chorizo from the casing and put into the pan. Make sure to wash up, safe food prep is very important. Break apart the Chorizo as it cooks till it has the consistency of chop meat. At this point add the cooked vegetables back to the pan, add a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste, stir, cover and simmer for 1/2 hour

The stuffing

I have mentioned in a few of my posts the advantage of using one pot or pan. Not just for clean up, but also for flavor. What was left in the pan from cooking the vegetables, is now incorporated with the Chorizo. No flavor is left behind. You’ll also notice I’ve used no herbs or spices, well, the Chorizo brings all that to the party. Letting it cook for that extra 1/2 hour allows all the flavors to mix up

So, in that pan is the stuffing for the poblanos, well, not completely, we still need the cheese. The choice of cheese is going to be yours, well, we all have cheese that we like, dislike, we all have our go-to cheese. I’m going to use Monterrey Jack, it’s flavorful, mixes and melts well. When it comes to grating cheese, a box grater is the only way to go. Sturdy with rubber feet that won’t slip. We’re going to use a couple of cups of it. I said we’d use a lot.

Putting the meat in the poblano

Now that the stuffing is cooked, remove from the heat, add 1 cup of cheese, stir well to mix and incorporate. Now we are ready to stuff. As always, set up a workstation. A hotplate for the hot pan, a plate with the poblanos prepped, and an oven safe dish lined with parchment paper. Carefully stuff each pepper with the chorizo mix, and lay it on the parchment paper.

You’ll have to go by eye with the stuffing, try to stuff them equally, a pound of chorizo plus other ingredients will stuff about 5 large poblanos. Once they’re all stuffed and laying in the parchment lined baking dish, put in a preheated 350 oven for 10 mins to finish cooking the poblanos. Remove from the oven cover with the other cup of cheese, and put back for the cheese to melt, about another 5 mins. Remove and set on the counter for 10 mins to rest then serve.

I usually serve the cheesy chorizo stuffed poblanos over white rice with black beans on the side, with cilantro sour cream to use as a topping, but, you can serve as you like. Please enjoy