Picadillo-Stuffed Chiles Rellenos
My favorite thing about making a big dinner on Sunday is pretending that I’m an Italian grandma, cooking enough food for a family of 10, even though it’s just my husband and I. Needless to say, most of my Sunday suppers have tons of leftovers. But as much as I love leftovers, sometimes I want to eat something a little different later in the week.
This week, I guess my inner Italian grandma took a backseat and let my inner Cuban grandma take over at the stove. Yes, I’m a grandma with split-personality disorder at heart. Picadillo is a dish made in many Latin American countries as well as the Phillipines.
It’s generally made with ground beef (although here I’m using pork), tomatoes, and a variety of other ingredients that vary by region. I love the Cuban version, because it’s the dish that finally made me love olives!
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The first time I made it, the balance of salty olives and sweet raisins really won over my tastebuds, and I couldn’t get enough of this dish.
I decided to combine it with another Latin American classic – chiles rellenos (except for my version, I roasted and broiled instead of fried them). I roasted some huge poblano peppers until they were nice and toasty. I rubbed their skins off, then stuffed them with the cooked picadillo mixture.
I threw a little Monterey Jack cheese on top and broiled them until the cheese got all bubbly and gooey. Sunday Supper – complete.
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Picadillo-Stuffed Chiles Rellenos
Ingredients
- 5 large poblano peppers
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 large white onion diced
- 2 pounds ground pork
- 6 plum tomatoes seeded and diced
- 1 can tomato paste 6 ounces
- 2 cups water
- ⅔ cup sliced pimento-stuffed green olives
- ½ cup golden raisins
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 slices Monterey Jack cheese
Instructions
- Preheat broiler to high heat. Place poblano peppers on rimmed baking pan, place under broiler and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until dark brown and blistered on all sides, turning and rotating frequently. Transfer peppers to large bowl; cover with plastic wrap and let stand 5 minutes. Use paring knife and paper towel to scrape/rub skin off peppers. Cut slit in each pepper lengthwise and carefully remove seeds, leaving stem and as much of the peppers as possible intact, as we will be stuffing them later.
- Meanwhile, heat oil over medium-high heat in large high-sided skillet. Add garlic, bay leaves and onion; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add pork; cook 10 to 12 minutes or until cooked through, breaking up pork with side of spoon.
- Add tomatoes, tomato paste, water, olives, raisins, cumin, oregano, salt, cayenne and black pepper; heat to simmering. Reduce heat to low; cook 10 minutes or until most liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally.
- Set 1 poblano pepper aside in refrigerator for use later in the week. Stuff remaining 4 peppers with about 3/4 cup hot picadillo mixture each (you should have about 1/3 of picadillo mixture left for leftovers). Top each pepper with 1 slice cheese. Place under broiler and broil 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is browned and bubbly. Serve immediately.
Those pictures look amazing! Sounds super flavorful and yummy!
Thanks so much, Karen!