Easy Vegetarian Chile Rellenos

Late last month, I was driving home after a soul and belly-nourishing weekend with friends in Stamford, NY when I stopped at a little farm stand outside of Woodstock. The stand had tons of gorgeous, locally grown apples, butternut squash, pumpkins, onions and potatoes, among other things. The glossy, deep green poblano peppers caught my eye. I was surprised to see them – I had thought it was too late in the season for peppers. Poblanos, often called pasillas, are mild chile peppers sold at some supermarkets, specialty food stores, farmers’ markets and Latin markets.

My husband adores chiles rellenos so I thought I would make a healthy, non-fried version for him that week once he returned home from a business trip. I wanted to amp up the protein for the peppers so instead of using a traditional cheese filling, I opted for a filling made with black beans and Morningstar Farm’s “Veggie Crumbles,” a textured protein/soy alternative to ground meat. Crumbles cook up super quick and adapt well to many recipes where you would use ground meat. They take on the flavor of whatever spices you are using in your recipe. My favorite way to use Crumbles is in tacos. If you haven’t tried these yet, I highly recommend them. They’re available in the freezer cases of most supermarkets and health food stores. (Hint: Target sells Crumbles for about $3 a bag in their freezer cases, while grocery stores offer them for about $5 a bag.) The current debate about the health benefits vs. risks of soy has not deterred me from eating Crumbles. My vote: eat soy in moderation.

You will undoubtedly have leftover filling; use it  in quesadillas or stuff more peppers. The prepared and baked peppers freeze well.

4-6 fresh poblano peppers, washed and dried
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion (white, yellow or red), diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bag Morningstar Farm’s Crumbles (do not defrost)
1 15/16 oz. can organic black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5 oz. can organic fire roasted diced tomatoes and juice – I prefer Muir Glen. If you can’t find Muir Glen, substitute regular diced tomatoes
1 small can sliced black olives, drained
1 cup frozen roasted corn (do not defrost) – I use Trader Joe’s. If you can’t find frozen roasted corn, substitute kernels from 2 ears of fresh corn, 1 small can of canned corn or 1 cup of regular frozen corn kernels
Up to 3 Tbsp. taco seasoning – I prefer Penzeys Spices’ Bold Taco Seasoning. You can substitute any taco seasoning you find at the grocery store in the spice aisle
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack, pepper jack or Mexican blend cheese
1 cup bottled enchilada sauce – I use Trader Joe’s

For the peppers:

Preheat your broiler on high or if you have a gas stove, turn on 2-3 burners. Under the broiler, place the peppers on the rack. On the stove and using tongs, place the peppers directly on the burners, 2-3 per burner depending on size of burner. For both broiler and burner methods, roast peppers for 3-5 minutes on each side, carefully watching them so they don’t burn. Using tongs, turn them every few minutes to ensure even roasting on each side. You are looking for the peppers to have mostly a black, charred, waxy skin; at this point, they are done. Immediately place peppers in glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 10 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, gently remove and discard charred skin. Lay the peppers flat on a surface and gently, with a sharp paring knife, cut a slit down the length of the pepper, being careful not to cut through the bottom of the pepper. You are creating a “boat,” in which you will place the filling. Set prepared peppers aside on a plate or cutting board.

For the filling:

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once shimmering (it’s hot enough at this point), add diced onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add Crumbles and stir. Cook for about 5 minutes, until Crumbles begin to soften. Add 2 TBsp. taco seasoning, reserving the last Tbsp. for the end, and stir to coat evenly. Add drained black beans, corn and olives and combine. Add fire roasted diced tomatoes and juices and combine. Cover and cook for about 6-8 minutes, until Crumbles have completely softened and resemble ground meat. Taste and add up to 1 Tbsp. taco seasoning, salt and pepper as necessary. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove mixture from stove and place in bowl to cool for 15 minutes (use this time to clean up or check email).

Spread 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 8×8 glass baking dish. On a cutting board or plate, gently fill peppers with 3-4 Tbsp. filling so they are bursting but not overflowing and are easy for you to move to the baking dish. Drizzle the remaining 1/2 enchilada sauce across the tops of the peppers. Sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the peppers. Cover the dish with foil and seal tightly. Bake the peppers for 25-30 minutes, until cheese melts. Remove foil and place under broiler for 3-5 minutes, until cheese browns and is bubbly.

Serve with warmed tortillas and beans. In the photo above, I served a can of Trader Joe’s Cuban black beans alongside the peppers and tortillas. These yummy beans are already seasoned so all they require is a reheat on the stove. (It was a Friday night, I was tired!)

Curried Apple Pumpkin Soup

Despite today’s unseasonably warm weather, I was inspired to do something with those leftover Halloween pumpkins. Over the years, I have learned to buy my pumpkins with the primary goal of turning them into something yummy. For me, there is no point in buying humongous pumpkins; I am far too lazy to carve scary faces into them and don’t have the physical strength or patience to break them down for soup, bread, pie, etc. So, here I was with an 8lb organic pumpkin and two apples from a farm stand just outside Woodstock, NY (late October visit and yes, apples do keep that long but just barely), plus some Vidalia onions and apple cider. One of my favorite and super easy ways to use fresh pumpkin is in a curried apple pumpkin soup. And no need to worry about slicing that pumpkin (or my fingers), thanks to my lovely husband!

For the pumpkin
Any size pumpkin which will yield roughly 6 cups roasted pumpkin chunks (according to The Victory Garden Cookbook, a cooked pumpkin yields half its original weight)
Extra virgin olive oil

For the soup
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Vidalia or sweet onion, diced
2 apples, peeled and cored, diced (any variety)
2 tsp. sweet curry powder (I use Penzeys Sweet Curry Power)
1/2 cup apple cider
Roughly 6 cups roasted pumpkin
4 cups organic low-sodium vegetable broth
up to 3 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. (I used the convection roast feature on my oven, set to 450 degrees F.) Thoroughly wash the pumpkin and remove all dirt. Cut around and remove the crown of the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin into large, wide slices (2-3″ wide). Scoop/cut the seeds out of the slices. Don’t worry if you can’t get all the strands out; you can easily cut them out once the pieces are roasted. Place the slices on foil-covered, rimmed baking sheets (you may need up to three sheets, depending on how big your pumpkin is). Drizzle olive oil across the slices of pumpkin; no need to fully cover; just a drizzle is sufficient. Roast for 40 minutes. If you are not using convection roast, rotate sheets halfway through. Roasted pumpkin should be soft enough to run a sharp knife through. Cool, about 30 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, use a sharp paring knife to remove the peel from the pumpkin slices. Also, remove any burned bits off the top of the slices and any strands. Cut trimmed slices into 1″ pieces. Set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. When shimmering (about 4 minutes), add diced onion and lower heat to medium-low. Cook onions until soft, stirring every few minutes, about 8 minutes. Add diced apple and saute for 2 minutes. Add cider, raise heat to medium-high, and cook for 4 minutes, stirring, until cider is thick and syrupy. Add curry powder and stir to coat onion and apple, 2  minutes. Add roasted pumpkin and stir to combine. Soup should appear thick and mushy at this point. Heat vegetable broth in a separate pan or in microwave. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring to make sure mixture is not sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add vegetable broth and stir. Taste for salt, add 2 teaspoons, reserving the last teaspoon. Once soup comes to low simmer, reduce to low and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Add white pepper and blend. Taste for salt and add 1 tsp., if necessary. Blend. Serve.

Notes:

• This soup freezes superbly. Cool to room temp, store in freezer-proof containers. Freeze up to 3 months.
• What do you do with the leftover roasted pumpkin? Mash it and freeze it for up to 3 months. After defrosting, drain the liquid before using.
• This soup is delicious as a vegan soup but if you want to add some richness, blend in some cream. Blend 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipping cream or half and half at the end. Don’t use milk; it will curdle. You need something with some fat.