Poblano Peppers
My relationship with spice has been one that has evolved over decades. Despite having the gulti (people from the state of Andhra, known for their love of spice) gene in me, I’ve always avoided spice growing up. My mom would have to keep aside whatever she was making in a little cup for me and then add on the spice. It was the same before she added shredded coconut to any of the dishes too. Understanding the complexities of cooking now, I realise what a pain in ass I was as a kid and how my mom had the patience of God. The only kind of spice that I was willing to sacrifice my palette for was molaga bhajis, deep fried banana peppers coated with a crispy chickpea flour batter. I would even sacrifice the box of gems that I’d hidden in my cupboard for molaga bhajis.
When I moved away from home and lived in a hostel, I understood what spice was all about. The hostel food was spicy, food from restaurants was spicy, when we roommates cooked, it was spicy as heck. Slowly my palette not only adjusted, but fell head over heels in love with spice, the seductress mistress that she is, always tantalising me to take one more bite. When I went back home for the holidays, much to the shock of my mother, I kept pointing out that the food could still use a bit more heat. Very soon, I was the girl who went around Oxford with a tabasco sauce bottle in her handbag, claiming that if I ever had to marry, it would be to the heir to the tabasco kingdom.
As I started cooking myself, I understood that there are different kinds of heat. There is the obvious punch you in the gut, a powdered mix of freshly roasted spices. There is the tangy heat, like you’d get from Frank’s sauce that tingles your tongue as it burns it up. And then there is the dull heat you get from the non-threatening peppers like shishito, banana, or even poblano. There are many other kinds, I’m sure, but these three have been the stars of my palette education.
I best like my punch-in-the-gut heat as a masala on roasted crab with a side of cold, cold beer on a hot day by the beach. I’d prepare myself with tissues on the side, just in case my eyes started watering. I take my tangy heat in the form of sauces, my flavour of the decade being buffalo sauce. There was a small pizza joint in Hanover called Everything but Anchovies which used to serve 50 cent wings on one of the nights of the week. Oh man, I’d go through plates as long as those wings were drenched in buffalo sauce.
Enjoying non-threatening peppers is more of a recent expedition. A Spanish tapas bar in Boston taught me all about how juicy shishito peppers can be when roasted the right way. I never thought simply roasted peppers with a splash of lime and a sprinkle of feta, would make for a delicious starter.
Just when I started wondering about what other peppers I could start cooking with, I started seeing poblano peppers everywhere. Beautiful, dark luscious green, roomy peppers, perfect for stuffing. When I mentioned them to Ni, he spent the rest of the day randomly yelling “poblano pepper!” Like a cartoon who’d suddenly pop up behind your shoulder. “Poblano peppers!” “Poblano peppers!”
Considering his excitement, I had to give it a shot. There are so many recipes out there for a meal with poblano peppers, but my favourite and one that I’ve been working on for years now is roasted poblano peppers stuffed with blacked shrimp and cream cheese, on a bed of mexican quinoa. The peppers are roasted twice, well technically broiled first to get blistered and then roasted again with the stuffing, making it soft, juicy and more importantly sweet with a latent heat.
There are many elements to putting this dish together and I think that is the other part that appeals to me. I like that I can prepare each part, arrange them and then put them together. And if I get to make them all in the same pan, that is like winning the lottery. The OCD part of my brain usually throws a ‘drink-too-much-party’ on such nights.
So, let’s start with the one thing that needs a little bit of time to marinate, shrimp. I love blackened shrimp usually for tacos, but the Cajun flavours of the shrimp go so well with the Mexican quinoa. In a small bowl, add 15-20 shrimps, a splash of olive oil, a few teaspoons of paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, dried oregano and thyme. Mix it all together gently and set it aside to marinate while you work on the other elements.
Set the oven to a high broil. Grease the poblano pepper and set them on a tray inside the oven for about five minutes, or until it blackens and blisters. Keep a constant watch and turn the peppers so that it blisters evenly. Remove from the oven and let them sit on the tray to cool.
Chop up a quarter of capsicum (bell pepper) and onion into long strips. In a hot pan, add some olive oil and minced garlic, As they turn golden, add the onions and peppers and sweat them for a few minutes, until they become soft. Remove them from the pan and set them aside.
In the same pan (get it to sizzling hot), add a touch more oil and place the shrimp in it. Two minutes on each side or until they look nice and charred. Try not to move them around, that’s how you get the char. When you are satisfied, remove from the pan and set them aside to cool a bit. Once cool, roughly chop them up and put them in a bowl along with a few tablespoons of softened cream cheese, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, salt, pepper and a splash of lime. Fold them all together gently.
Before we pop the stuffed peppers in the oven, there is one last element to prepare, the quinoa. In the same pan, add some olive oil and chopped onions and peppers. I also added some baby corn cut into circles. Once they soften, add a couple of chopped tomatoes, a dash of salt to season, some cumin powder and paprika. You can also add any kind of cooked/canned beans you’d want. Mix well and add a cup of quinoa and two cups of water. Check the taste and season with more salt if necessary. Bring the water to a rolling boil and then reduce the heat to the lowest, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed. Let it sit undisturbed for a few minutes and then fluff it with a fork.
For the final step, set the oven to preheat at 375F. Slowly peel the peppers and make a slit down the middle. Remove the seeds from the middle. Stuff the peppers with the seasoned shrimp, lay the sauted onions and peppers, and top it up with some shredded cheese. In the oven it goes for 10-15 minutes. Carefully move them from the tray to the bed of quinoa, add a squeeze of lime, garnish with chopped coriander and a line of sour cream. Enjoy with a side of a crisp, cold beer.
AuthorPriyanka SivaramakrishnanDifficultyIntermediateRoasted poblano peppers stuffed with blacked shrimp and cream cheese, on a bed of Mexican quinoa.
In a small bowl, add 15-20 shrimps, a splash of olive oil, a few teaspoons of paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, dried oregano and thyme. Mix it all together gently and set it aside to marinate.
Set the oven to a high broil.
Grease the poblano pepper and set them on a tray inside the oven for about five minutes, or until it blackens and blisters. Keep a constant watch and turn the peppers so that it blisters evenly. Remove from the oven and let them sit on the tray to cool.
Chop up a quarter of capsicum (bell pepper) and onion into long strips.
In a hot pan, add some olive oil and minced garlic, As they turn golden, add the onions and peppers and sweat them for a few minutes, until they become soft. Remove them from the pan and set them aside.
In the same pan (get it to sizzling hot), add a touch more oil and place the shrimp in it.
Two minutes on each side or until they look nice and charred. Try not to move them around, that’s how you get the char. When you are satisfied, remove from the pan and set them aside to cool a bit.
Roughly chop them up and put them in a bowl along with a few tablespoons of softened cream cheese, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, salt, pepper and a splash of lime. Fold them all together gently.
In the same pan, add some olive oil and chopped onions and peppers. Once they soften, add a couple of chopped tomatoes, a dash of salt to season, some cumin powder and paprika. You can also add any kind of cooked/canned beans you’d want.
Mix well and add a cup of quinoa and two cups of water. Check the taste and season with more salt if necessary.
Bring the water to a rolling boil and then reduce the heat to the lowest, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed. Let it sit undisturbed for a few minutes and then fluff it with a fork.
Set the oven to preheat at 375F. Slowly peel the peppers and make a slit down the middle. Remove the seeds from the middle.
Stuff the peppers with the seasoned shrimp, lay the sauted onions and peppers, and top it up with some shredded cheese.
In the oven it goes for 10-15 minutes. Carefully move them from the tray to the bed of quinoa, add a squeeze of lime and garnish with chopped coriander and sour cream.
Ingredients
Directions
In a small bowl, add 15-20 shrimps, a splash of olive oil, a few teaspoons of paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, dried oregano and thyme. Mix it all together gently and set it aside to marinate.
Set the oven to a high broil.
Grease the poblano pepper and set them on a tray inside the oven for about five minutes, or until it blackens and blisters. Keep a constant watch and turn the peppers so that it blisters evenly. Remove from the oven and let them sit on the tray to cool.
Chop up a quarter of capsicum (bell pepper) and onion into long strips.
In a hot pan, add some olive oil and minced garlic, As they turn golden, add the onions and peppers and sweat them for a few minutes, until they become soft. Remove them from the pan and set them aside.
In the same pan (get it to sizzling hot), add a touch more oil and place the shrimp in it.
Two minutes on each side or until they look nice and charred. Try not to move them around, that’s how you get the char. When you are satisfied, remove from the pan and set them aside to cool a bit.
Roughly chop them up and put them in a bowl along with a few tablespoons of softened cream cheese, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, salt, pepper and a splash of lime. Fold them all together gently.
In the same pan, add some olive oil and chopped onions and peppers. Once they soften, add a couple of chopped tomatoes, a dash of salt to season, some cumin powder and paprika. You can also add any kind of cooked/canned beans you’d want.
Mix well and add a cup of quinoa and two cups of water. Check the taste and season with more salt if necessary.
Bring the water to a rolling boil and then reduce the heat to the lowest, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed. Let it sit undisturbed for a few minutes and then fluff it with a fork.
Set the oven to preheat at 375F. Slowly peel the peppers and make a slit down the middle. Remove the seeds from the middle.
Stuff the peppers with the seasoned shrimp, lay the sauted onions and peppers, and top it up with some shredded cheese.
In the oven it goes for 10-15 minutes. Carefully move them from the tray to the bed of quinoa, add a squeeze of lime and garnish with chopped coriander and sour cream.