Apparently I've been sticking with my "trying new things" kick! I've never cooked with poblano peppers before. I'll start out by saying this was indeed successful. However, it wasn't without its surprises along the way.
For example, did you know that peppers vary in how spicy they are?
The author didn't say anything about it being spicy, and I knew my dad liked chile relleno, which is made with poblanos, and he had never said they were spicy. So I didn't think twice.
My mistake.
I had a fun time putting the peppers under the broiler. I was nervous about keeping them under it so I took them out a bit too early. So two of the peppers separated easily from their skin. The other three were uncooperative.
So lesson #1: really let them blister enough or it will be quite difficult to get the skin off.
So that's when my hands started burning a little. "Hmm, that's odd," I thought. I had an extra pepper so I cut off a piece and tried it. And it was spicy!! What?!?! Gasp!
I figured I had no choice though and I continued to make them. I filled them with a lovely brown rice that had been cooked like pasta (in a ton of water and then drained - this actually produced a very fluffy rice) and mixed it with salsa, cilantro and cumin. Then I topped them with pinto beans, and then finally a cooling cilantro avocado sauce (http://minimalistbaker.com/mexican-quinoa-salad-cups-with-creamy-cilantro-lime-dressing/).
So how did it go? Well I thought they were delicious. I love mexican food. Any combination of beans with avocado has my vote. But the peppers were like Goldilocks and her oatmeal. My pepper was 100% mild. Mom's was slightly spicy. And Dad's was more substantially spicy. So mom and I switched plates and it all worked out for the best, with Dad surviving his unexpected heat. But let this be a warning to you, do not assume that poblanos are mild!
Another word of wisdom. When you are dealing with peppers (taking the skin off for example) please wear gloves! My hands quickly started to burn in an awful manner. If you forget this advice though, it did seem to help me to coat my hands in olive oil and then wash them. Something about the oil breaking down the oil from the peppers?
Next time I'll just make them with bell peppers.
The more you know!
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