Vegan Chiles Rellenos w/ Asparagus Zucchini + Lime Corn Stuffing, Cilantro Lime Buckwheat, and Spicy Heirloom Tomato Salsa
Difficulty: 3/5 (5 being hardest)
Spice Level: 2/3 (3 being spiciest)
Prep & Cook Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 peppers
The Challenge: Chile Rellenos
In my early days of becoming a vegan, I was a vegetarian. Its like the gateway drug to more rigor in plant-based diets. ha. We used to go to Mexican restaurants all the time when I was a kid, and I got many things that were cheese-based. One of those items I loved to eat was chiles rellenos - essentially a cheese-stuffed poblano pepper that is then breaded and fried or baked with more cheese. Haha. It isn't too good for you.
But man they were yum. I had a craving last week to have one and began to try a vegan version. Obviously, stuffing it with cheese wasn't an option, and as much as I love recreating vegan cheeses, I think it needed to be a bit more healthy with a delicious veg based stuffing. The mixture of asparagus, lime corn, onion, and zucchini as a stuffing seemed to sing to me.
Next, we wanted to add a light breading and bake this. A very healthy alternative to chiles rellenos. A bed of lime cilantro buckwheat (a seed similar to quinoa but not a grain) and a homemade spicy heirloom tomato salsa seemed to be just what I needed to make this a complete meal.
How does one stuff a poblano and bread it well. Burn it! On castiron. Or broil it in the oven. From that, we peel off the skin. Cut a "T" in the top and use a spoon to stuff it full. What's left? An amazing start to chile rellenos.
But that's just a start so let's get into it!
Chiles Rellenos
- 4 large poblano peppers
- 1 tbl olive oil
- 1 medium shallor, diced
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 6 spears of aspargus, diced
- 2 corn cobs, remove kernels
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 tbl vegan butter
- pinch of salt + pepper
- pinch of garlic powder, smoked paprika, and chili powder
Batter
- 1/2 cup soy milk, unsweetened
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- pinch of garlic powder, salt, smoked paprika, coriander
Salsa
- 4 medium heirloom tomatoes, cut in halffrom top to bottom
- 1/2 medium vidalia onion, cut into 1/8 pieces
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 medium serrano chile, cut off stem
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 tsp salt
Lime Cilantro Buckwheat
- 1 cup buckwheat
- 2 cups water
- 1 lime, juiced,
- handful fo cilantro, roughly chopped
Other
- avocado + cilantro, for serving
Equipment You'll Need:
Cutting Board . Medium Cutting Knife . Measuring Cups . Measuring Spoons . Medium Baking Sheet . Castiron Pan . Parchment Paper or Silpat . Food Processor . Two Shallow Bowls . Large Frying Pan
Before You Cook:
- Turn oven onto broil at 525F
- Wash and cut ingredients
- Place buckwheat in pot with 2 cups water, bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes.
1. Place veggies for salsa on a baking sheet and place into oven set on broil (525) for 10 minutes.
2. Next, place the poblanos in a castiron pan, broil for a few minutes in the oven then switch to pan and cook on high heat. You want to burn the poblanos until the skin starts to crack and peel off. It should take another 6-8 minutes.
3. Pull salsa veggies out of the oven when starting to blacken as you see here. Let them cool, set aside.
4. Place onions and oil from chiles rellenos into a large frying pan. Cook for a few minutes then add in zucchini, asparagus, and spices.
5. While the veggies are sauteeing, blend together all the salsa ingredients in a processor. Set aside.
6. In another pan or same pan if the veggies are done, mix the corn, lime, and butter together and saute over medium heat for 8 minutes until it starts to brown.
7. Now that the poblanos are cooled, pull off the outer skin. Cut a T on the pepper at the top. A slit around the top and down the middle to about halfway to stuff in the ingredients.
8. Stuff in the lime corn, zuke, asparagus mixture with a spoon. Be careful not to split it too much in the middle.
9. Get two stations together. One is the milk bath. The second is the breadcrumbs. On the fly, I added a few blue corn chips to that mixture to coat the poblano in.
10. Last step - place each poblano in the bath and rotate to coat it well. Then coat it with the breadcrumb + spice mixture. Place in the oven at 350F and cook for 5-6 minutes to warm and cook the breadcrumbs on.
12. Serve with salsa on plate, buckwheat (mixed with lime + cilantro), avocado on the side, and pepper on top.
