cheesy vegetarian rice and bean stuffed poblanos

hi friends, happy sunday!

how are we doing? well, fine enough, hanging in there, feeling hopeful? i’m somewhere in between all of it and really settling into the notion that that’s perfectly ok. trying for our best or at least somewhere in the ballpark, always.

i spent much of the last week doing very washington d.c. things and figuring out how to stake my tiny claim in this new place. i got a massive, creamy rainbow sprinkled ice cream cone from a food truck, i dangled my feet off the edges of the lincoln memorial. the boy i live with (man? male companion? manpanion being my preferred reference?) and i decided a few weeks back that we would ‘eat around the world’ and choose a different country to explore in our city until the world calms down and we can, actually, eat around the world. we wrote our list on little slips of paper and put them in an actual hat, and so far we’ve drawn india, france, and japan - each so different and deliciously new from the last, but thus far japan takes the proverbial cake (though there was a delightful matcha custard-filled donut involved.) we got tickets to ‘one night in tokyo’ at minibar by jose andres, and between my basil-y gin cocktail with a pipette of chili oil to finishing the evening with their vision for childhood breakfast cereal with sweetened goat’s milk, i was very very much in my dream journal of heaven.

if it wasn’t plainly obvious before, i could go on about restaurants forever and ever, but i really must get to these stuffed poblanos because they are insane!! please take this moment to gaze at melty cheese above and below.

cheesy vegetarian rice and bean stuffed poblanos are quite spicy, most cheesy, and very, very delicious. they are also vegetarian, and could definitely be vegan with a quick cheese-vegan cheese swap. they are a back-to-basics pantry staple, with the entrance of poblanos which are probably not always in your fridge, but are a cool adventure into the other-peppered realm. this is also a one-pan dish, which we LOVE.

a few things before we get started:

- this dish is inherently spicy. poblanos have a sort of warm-spice, but the jalapeño and chili powder reeeeally give it a kick. if you want to tone it down, skip the jalapeño
- i found my poblanos at whole foods (you know, near the lemongrass, thai chilis, cute mini eggplants, bags of kefir limes; that area)
- we’ve got a lot of great budget-friendly things happening here. a few canned items, rice, and a few veggies (plus CHEESE) and you’ve got a solid dinner plus leftovers in a half hour (yay!)
- as i mentioned before, you can definitely make this vegan by using a vegan cheddar cheese. if you’d like to add meat, shredded chicken or ground turkey would not be amiss either
- don’t skip the broiling bit at the end. it’s what takes the gooey, melted cheese to a very ultimate, ultra delicious level. and then you should probably top it with more cheese when plating

cheesy vegetarian rice and bean stuffed poblanos
makes: 4 servings
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 30 minutes

1 onion, small diced
2 bell peppers, small diced
1 jalapeño, de-seeded and minced
1c cooked white or brown rice
1 15oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1c diced tomatoes (canned works great here!)
4 garlic cloves, minced
juice from 2 limes
1c cilantro, chopped (optional)
1c shredded Mexican cheese blend (or more. more is more is more with cheese! vegan cheese works here, too)
5 poblano peppers, sliced in half length-wise, de-seeded, and stem ends removed
1tbsp oil
1 1/2tsp salt
2tsp chili powder
2tsp cumin
1tsp paprika

preheat the oven to 400.

arrange the poblanos on a large plate or cutting board, and set aside.

heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet (cast iron works great here!) add the onion, bell peppers, jalapeño, garlic, and spices. saute for 5-7 minutes until the onion becomes translucent. add the rice, beans, tomatoes, and lime juice, and saute for another 5 minutes until everything is coated in the spices and combined. stir in the cilantro.

next, we stuff the poblanos! you’ll use about half the rice mixture - gently spoon enough of the rice mixture to fill each poblano. with the remaining rice, spread it evenly throughout the bottom of the skillet. nestle the stuffed poblanos into the skillet on top of the remaining rice. sprinkle each poblano with a generous amount of cheese (and it’s ok if some cheese falls into the rice in the skillet; in fact, this is a very good thing.)

cover the skillet with foil, and pop in the oven for 10 minutes. then, remove the foil, set the oven to broil, and broil the poblanos for 2-3 minutes. watch them carefully here, we just want the cheese to bubble and not burn.

serve with extra cheese, cilantro, and limes if you like!