Quinoa Stuffed Anaheim and Poblano Peppers
I have to say, these Quinoa Stuffed Anaheim and Poblano Peppers are quickly becoming a favorite around here.
I’ve written before about this before, but one of the reasons I love our CSA basket is that it encourages us to be more adventurous. I’m sure it will come as no surprise that we just didn’t see many anaheim and poblano peppers in the Midwest. As a result, I didn’t have a clue what to do with them, and have just been passing them by at the market ever since.
That all changed a few weeks ago when we started getting them in our CSA basket. Not just one or two, which we could have simply used to enhance the flavor of our favorite mexican dishes. But six or eight every week … enough to make an entire meal.
So that is exactly what I did.
I’ve tested this recipe with my family for a few weeks now, adding new ingredients each time. At first the peppers packed a bit too much heat for my boys, so they’d take half of a pepper and add extra filling, but in just a few weeks they have really grown to love this meal, peppers and all.
This dish is packed with flavor and is loaded with protein and nutrients, making it an incredibly nutritious and satisfying meal. We love it topped with avocado “cream” sauce, fresh tomatoes and freshly chopped cilantro. Absolutely delicious!
I hope you and your family love it too!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
- 1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
- 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 1/2 cups mushrooms, chopped
- 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 3 green onions, finely sliced
- 4 large anaheim and/or poblano peppers (more if small)
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least one hour, drained and rinsed well
- 1/4 cup filtered water
- 1 large ripe avocado, sliced in half and pit removed
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- Juice of 1 lime
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- Diced tomatoes
- Chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a small saucepan, combine the quinoa and the vegetable stock and bring to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat; add the red onion, bell pepper and mushrooms and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes
- Stir in the beans, quinoa, chili powder and cumin and mix thoroughly
- Remove from heat and fold in the sliced green onion
- Split the anaheim and poblano peppers in half and remove the seeds
- Stuff each pepper with the quinoa mixture and place in a baking dish (reserve additional quinoa mixture to serve with the meal)
- Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes, or until the peppers are soft
- Add the cashews and filtered water to a high speed blender and blend thoroughly
- Add the flesh of the avocado, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper and blend again to desired consistency (similar to greek yogurt)
- Top each stuffed pepper with avocado "cream" sauce, diced tomatoes and chopped cilantro
