Quinoa Stuffed Poblano Peppers

These are a healthy twist on Chile Rellenos and could easily be done dairy free. Here's the dairy version:

1/2 cup dried quinoa
1 c water

8-12 Poblano peppers (they range in size, but leftover stuffing makes a great salad; leftover peppers are good to add to other recipes, so no hard and fast rule here)

1 ear of corn
1 yellow or orange bell pepper (about 1c chopped)
1/2 red onion (about 1/2 c chopped)
1/4 chopped fresh cilantro
1c black beans
2-3 ounces cheese (I use cheddar but even a crumbled feta would be terrific. go with what you love)
salt and pepper to taste
plain nonfat Greek yogurt

Quinoa: it's about a 2-1 ratio, water-to-quinoa. I put dry quinoa in the bottom of my pan and toast it first before adding water. This gives it a nice nutty flavor. It takes a few minutes but you'll eventually smell a warm nuttiness to the grains. At that point, add water and a pinch of salt. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the quinoa grains' skins swell and only partially cover the grain. The water will be gone. I do not cover but I do cook them on low.

While you've got the quinoa cooking:
Prep the peppers: Fire roast them to remove the skins. To do so, grill, broil, or place right on the gas burner of your stove and, turning every few minutes, roast them till their skins are brown/black. Don't do longer than 10 minutes or they'll get a mushy texture. Once blackened, place in a heavy ceramic, glass, or pottery bowl (i.e., one that will hold their heat- metal doesn't) and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Set the peppers aside while you're chopping the other ingredients.

Grill the corn: Same procedure as the peppers- grill or place on grate of gas burner stove. Don't blacken, though! Just turn till you get some nice golden/brown color on 3-4 "sides" (of course I know a round object doesn't have sides. Lighten up). To cut off the kernels, I lay out a clean kitchen towel, place the ear vertically in the middle, and cut the kernels off with a chef's knife. Then use the towel to pour them into the bowl you'll use for the chopped veggie and quinoa mixture.

Chop the veggies: While your peppers are set aside, chop the vegetables and grate the cheese. Put the veggies and beans in a bowl where you'll add the cooked quinoa (I add the quinoa straight from the stove- it wilts the veggies ever so slightly). If you don't like raw onions, wilt them in a pan with some spray olive oil then add.

Combine to make stuffing/quinoa salad: If you do fewer or smaller peppers, you'll probably have extra quinoa salad, so use only as much as you estimate is needed to fill the peppers. THEN add the cheese (i.e., if I have extra quinoa, I don't like to add the cheese to the whole thing because then it's not as interesting a salad- when I use the extra for a salad. I'd rather have crumbled goat and toss some avocado in there with lots of lemon juice and olive oil).
Salt and pepper to taste. I use about 1/2t course sea salt and about 1/2t black pepper. A nice substitute for black pepper is Aleppo pepper, which adds a warm heat.

Returning to the peppers:
- Now remove the skins. If you blackened them properly, they'll pull off fairly easily with your fingers. Don't be neurotic- if some of the skin sticks, that's fine.
- Remove the insides but keep the stems for beauty at the table. To do so, use a paring knife to make a slit down the length of the pepper. Then cut a "T" across the top of the pepper (just below the stem). Now you have a little opening where you can pull out the seeds and membrane. I wear non-powdered neoprene doctors' gloves so the spicy just doesn't soak into my hands and eventually make it to my eyes, which then burn. I wear those, actually, any time I use my hands to prep food.
- Stuff the peppers with the quinoa and cheese mixture.

Arrange on an oven-save platter broil for just a few minutes to get the cheese melted. Serve with a dollop of cool, nonfat plain Greek yogurt.

Prep time: about 30-45 minutes.
Yield: if main course, then 3-4 servings; nice for appetizer course or tapas, in which case, it yields as many peppers as you make.

Variations:
- if dairy free, you would want something to give it moisture/density (e.g., avocado). If you use avocado, cube it and toss it in lemon or lime juice. Do NOT heat the peppers, either- they'll be terrific at room temp!
- try other veggies like chopped zucchini and/or tomatoes and/or any veggies you like in a salad but can hold up to cooking. If adding spinach, wilt it first to get rid of excess water.