Corn Risotto-Stuffed Poblanos
- 8 large fresh poblano peppers
- 6 cups (1422 ml) chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 cups (400 grams) short-grained rice such as arborio or carnaroli
- ½ cup (120 ml) beer, preferably light or medium in color
- 1½ cups (200 grams) fresh corn kernels (from about 2 cobs) or 1½ cups frozen and defrosted kernels
- ¾ cup (70 grams) grated Monterey Jack cheese
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup (30 grams) crumbled queso fresco, ricotta salata, or another crumbly cheese
- 3 tablespoons (45 grams) sour cream mixed with 1 tablespoon milk and a pinch of salt for serving
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves or flat-leaf parsley
Instructions:
This recipe makes a delicious and healthy main course.
- Lay several chiles at a time on their sides on the racks atop a gas burner, and turn the flame to high. Using tongs, rotate the chiles frequently until their skins are blistered, about 4 to 6 minutes each. Transfer the peppers to a bowl, and cover them with foil or plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining chiles. Should you not have a gas burner, you can do this under a broiler. Or you can skip this step altogether if the pepper skins don’t bother you.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the stock to a low simmer. On a separate burner, heat a larger saucepan over medium heat. Once the saucepan is hot, add the oil and heat through; then add the onion, and sauté until it is softened and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute more. Add the rice to the pot, and stir it for a minute or two, until it becomes lightly toasty. Pour in the beer, scraping up any stuck bits from the bottom of the pan. Let beer simmer for roughly a minute—it will mostly disappear.
- Ladle 1 cup of warm stock into rice mixture, and simmer until it has been absorbed, stirring frequently. Add the remaining stock, ½ cup at a time, allowing stock to absorb before adding more, and stirring often. Along with the final addition of stock, add the corn. The total cooking time for the rice is about 30 minutes, after which it should be creamy and tender. Though risotto is traditionally supposed to be on the loose side, you can leave this one ever-so-slightly thicker, so it can be easily stuffed into peppers. Once the stock is added and the risotto is tender, stir in the Monterey Jack cheese, the salt, and many grinds of black pepper. Adjust seasonings to taste. Remove risotto from the heat.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Remove chiles from bowl, and gently rub off the skins, which should now remove easily. Cut a slit lengthwise in each chile, and remove the seeds and membranes as best as you can. Leave the stems on—they’re cute. Fill each chile with risotto through the slit. Arrange the chiles tightly in a baking dish, and sprinkle the space between them with crumbled cheese. Bake the chiles for 10 to 15 minutes, until bronzed a bit on top.
- In a small dish, whisk together the sour cream mixed with milk and salt. Drizzle the mixture over hot chiles. Garnish with cilantro. Eat them while they’re hot.