Chorizo stuffed poblano peppers
Poblanos charred until smoky and silky, stuffed whole with chorizo, rice, corn and melted jack cheese, and baked in red enchilada sauce.
- 65 min total
- 35 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $2.81 a serving
- 530 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 4 poblano peppers, large
- 1 white onion, small, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 9 oz Mexican chorizo, 1 package, casing removed
- 1 package microwave rice pouches, 8.8 oz pouch
- ½ cup frozen corn
- 1½ cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded, divided
- 1 can red enchilada sauce, 10 oz
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped (optional)
- ¼ cup sour cream (optional)
Each serving has about 530 calories, 24 g protein, 39 g carbs and 32 g fat, and costs about $2.81 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No frozen corn? Canned corn works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Set an oven rack about 6 inches under the and turn the broiler on high. Line a with foil and lay the whole poblanos on it.
Broil. Broiling means cooking under the oven’s top heating element, with strong heat from above. It browns and crisps the top in minutes, and it can burn fast, so stay close.
How you’ll know: The top bubbles and spots golden brown; check every minute and pull it before it blackens.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
8 to 10 minutes, turning the peppers with tongs every 3 minutes, until the skins are blistered and black on most sides.
Broil. Broiling means cooking under the oven’s top heating element, with strong heat from above. It browns and crisps the top in minutes, and it can burn fast, so stay close.
How you’ll know: The top bubbles and spots golden brown; check every minute and pull it before it blackens.
Char. Charring means cooking over very high heat until some spots turn black. Those dark spots add a smoky, slightly bitter flavor that balances sweet or rich food.
How you’ll know: You see black spots and blisters in places, while most of the surface keeps its own color.
Timer: 9 min
Dolly’s tip: Black is what you want here. The burnt skin comes off and the pepper underneath turns soft and smoky.Put the hot peppers in a bowl, cover it with a plate, and let them 10 minutes. Turn the oven to 400°F.
Steam. Steaming means cooking food over or in a little simmering water with a lid on to trap the steam. It cooks gently and keeps vegetables bright and tender.
How you’ll know: The color turns vivid, and a fork goes in with just a little resistance.
Timer: 10 min
While they steam, cook the chorizo and onion in a over medium-high for 6 to 7 minutes, breaking it up, until no pink is left. Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium-high heatTimer: 7 min
Food safety: Raw pork sausage is done at 160°F and raw chicken or turkey sausage at 165°F. Precooked sausage just needs heating until hot all the way through.
Heat the rice pouch as the package says, then stir the rice, corn and 1 cup jack cheese into the chorizo.
Rub the loose skins off the peppers with your fingers. Cut a slit down one side of each, from stem to tip, and pull out the seeds, leaving the stem on.
Dolly’s tip: Don’t rinse them. A few flecks of black skin add flavor, and water washes it away. Wash your hands after, and keep them away from your eyes.Pour the enchilada sauce into a baking dish. Spoon the filling into each pepper through the slit, lay them slit side up in the sauce, and top with the rest of the cheese.
15 minutes, until the cheese is and the sauce is bubbling.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Timer: 15 min
Serve one pepper each with sauce spooned over, cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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