Quinoa Chicken Stuffed Poblano Chiles

First off, this isn’t about heat, but flavor. Lots of flavor. So follow me on the flavor train people.

We love spice and heat, but this is one is a nuanced and flavorful dish. For this recipe I wanted to incorporate quinoa into a stuffed chile and had recently picked up a bag from Costco called Organic Quinoa Ancient Blend, which has quinoa, amaranth and millet. Feel free to just use quinoa though. The ancient blend of grains hails from the Mesoamerican diet and was cultivated by pre-Columbian Aztecs. It’s a fantastic mixture of nutty, flavorful grains.

OK, so the low down on these chiles. I see the Pasilla and the Poblano mislabeled constantly in U.S. supermarkets. When I asked at my local Mexican market – La Tiendita Mexican Market, I was told that the Pasilla is the name given to the dried form of a Chilaca chile. It literally means “little raisin.”

The Poblano is wider, a dark green and when dried is also known as the Ancho chile. To call a fresh, green Poblano a Pasilla chile is wrong. It’s not even the right pepper!

So we are using the Poblano in this recipe. I started off by picking up some Anaheim green chiles to stuff, and after roasting to remove their skins, I thought about it and they were just too thin and I decided to blend them into a subtle yet flavorful sauce with a cream, shallot and onion reduction similar to my Chiles en Nogada.

Rinse the quinoa or quinoa blend with cold water in sieve and drain. Add the grains to boiling water in a sauce pan. Lower heat and simmer for 18 minutes, or until all water is absorbed. Remove from heat and spread on baking sheet or plate to cool.

Start your grill, broiler, or over an open flame on the stovetop, char the outside of the peppers completely. Place in a brown paper bag and seal for 10 minutes. Allow to cool and scrape off the outer skin off.

For the Poblanos, make a small incision down one side and open partially. Remove any membrane threads and seeds. Set aside on lined baking sheet. For the green chiles, remove stems and seeds. Set aside in a small bowl.

Add the vegetable oil to a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the ground chicken and cumin and cook for about 5 minutes, breaking up into crumbles.

Add half of the diced onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the diced apples and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the white wine and simmer until sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with sugar, pepitas, salt and pepper, and then remove from the heat. Set aside to cool slightly. When cooled, combine with the quinoa and mix thoroughly.

Set oven to 225°F. Stuff each poblano pepper with the chicken mixture and set aside on a lined baking sheet. Gently wrap the sides together so pepper encases filling.

At this point these can be made ahead. Just cover with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated. Otherwise, continue… Keep warm in oven while you make the sauce.

In a blender add the roasted, seeded green chiles and heavy cream and purée.

In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, cook the other half of the diced onion in the oil until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the minced shallot and cook for 5 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it is almost completely evaporated, about 15 minutes. Add the blended heavy cream and green chiles and simmer until reduced by half, about 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Season to taste with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Pour the green chile cream sauce on top of each stuffed poblano pepper and sprinkle with the cilantro and Cotija cheese crumbles.

These guys are simply delicious and made with ground chicken, quinoa and packed with flavor weapons these deliver big time. Enjoy!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Quinoa Chicken Stuffed Poblano Chiles with Green Chile Cream Sauce

 

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Prep time

16 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 16 mins

 

Author: Kevin

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1½ cups quinoa or Ancient Blend (see above)
• 2½ cups water
• 4 poblano peppers, roasted and peeled
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 onion, diced (separated)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 apple, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp pepitas (roasted, shelled pumpkin seeds)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup dry white wine
• Pinch of sugar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 6 green chiles, roasted, seeded and skins removed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
• Cotija Cheese

Instructions

1. Rinse the quinoa or quinoa blend with cold water in sieve and drain. Add the grains to boiling water in a sauce pan. Lower heat and simmer for 18 minutes, or until all late tis absorbed. Remove from heat and spread on baking sheet to cool.
2. Start your grill, broiler, or over an open flame on the stove top, char the outside of the peppers completely. Place in a brown paper bag and seal for 10 minutes. Allow to cool and scrape off the outer skin off. For the Poblanos, make a small incision down one side and open partially. Remove any membrane threads and seeds. Set aside on lined baking sheet. For the green chiles, remove stems and seeds. Set aside in a small bowl.
3. Add the vegetable oil to a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the ground chicken and cumin and cook for about 5 minutes, breaking up into crumbles.
4. Add half of the diced onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the diced apples and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the white wine and simmer until sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with sugar, pepitas, salt and pepper, and then remove from the heat. Set aside to cool slightly. When cooled, combine with the quinoa and mix thoroughly.
5. Stuff each poblano pepper with the chicken mixture and set aside. Gently wrap the sides together so pepper encases filling.
6. In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, cook the other half of the diced onion in the oil until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the minced shallot and cook for 5 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it is almost completely evaporated, about 15 minutes. Add the blended heavy cream and green chile and simmer until reduced by half, about 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
7. Pour the green chile cream sauce on top of each stuffed poblano pepper and sprinkle with the cilantro and Cotija cheese crumbles.

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