Stuffed Poblanos with a Kick

I never really liked stuffed peppers. My memory of a stuffed pepper is a ball of meat and rice jammed into a bell pepper- No thank you. So I decided to replace my old memory of stuffed peppers with a new more exciting memory.

Truth: I have actually eaten these 4 days in a row with no shame.
Double Truth: Don’t be intimidated by the chiles.

ingredients

• 4 poblano peppers
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 large yellow onion diced
• 4 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 zucchini diced
• 1 ½ cups of fresh spinach
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 teaspoon chipotle liquid (from canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 teaspoons chili powder
• 3 tablespoons Cumin
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ cup shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese

preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roast chiles:

Lay chiles on their sides on the racks over gas burners and turn the flames on high. Roast chiles by turning with tongs until the skin is blistered all over. This should take about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a large ziploc bag and close to allow chiles to steam.

You can also broil the chiles on a broiling pan 2 inches from the heat turning until skin is blistered.

Make filling:

Brown ground beef in a large frying pan over medium heat breaking it up until cooked through. Transfer to large bowl.  Tear the fresh spinach over the hamburger.

Heat olive oil in same pan over medium heat and add the onions and zucchini and cook until onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook about 1 minute. Add black beans, chipotle liquid, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, chili powder, cumin and stir to incorporate mixture together.  Cook for 5-8 minutes to let the sauce thicken and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl with ground beef and spinach and mix thoroughly.

Pull skins off of chiles. Slice in half and remove the seeds and stem. Place chiles into a 13 by 9 inch baking dish. Fill with mixture and top with cheese. Put in to oven and cook until heated through and cheese is melted.

Serves 4-5