Things are heating up in the kitchen!! For this dish, we take some poblano peppers and stuff them with Cacique chorizo. We pan fry the chorizo with a few veggies for extra flavor in the stuffing Typically you might think of this dish as a chile relleno which is deep-fried. Our version nixes the frying. Before you can fire up this dish you first need to char some poblano peppers. We show you how in this Skill Drill: Charring Poblano Peppers.

CHORIZO STUFFED POBLANO PEPPERS

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 large poblano chile peppers

• 1 small red onion, minced

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 lb Mexican-style chorizo, removed from casings

• 1 cup cooked rice

• 1 medium roma tomato, diced

• 3 tablespoons tomato paste

• ⅓ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• ½ tsp ground cumin

• ⅓ cup Mexican crema or sour cream

• ½ cup Mexican Manchego cheese, shredded

• ½ cup cheddar cheese, shredded

• ¼ cup cotija cheese, grated

• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Char chile peppers over an open flame.  Place in a metal bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Allow chiles to steam until cool.  Once cooled, peel, stem, split and seed chiles.

2. Heat a large non-stick sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Sauté the chorizo for about 5 minutes, gently breaking it up with a wooden spoon.  Stir in the onions and garlic.  Cook for 2-3 more minutes.  Add the tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Transfer to a large bowl.

3. Add rice, tomatoes, sour cream, cilantro, and cotija cheese to the bowl with the meat mixture and mix until combined.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Spoon the mixture into the cavities of the split chiles and top with the Manchego and cheddar cheeses.

5. Place chiles on a baking sheet and return to the oven to melt cheese or melt the cheese with a torch.