Poblanos, Radishes and Manouri, Oh My!
Stuffed Poblano peppers prepared on the grill make a fun appetizer or side for a casual Memorial Day barbecue.
You know summer’s coming fast when the air conditioner at work breaks down and you get so hot and delirious that you imagine your co-workers are actually laughing at your jokes, your boss thinks you’re brilliant and you’ve just come up with the perfect, fail safe plan to save the economy and create world peace. Since taking off your pants in public is generally frowned upon — unless you’re a Victoria’s Secret model or the Naked Cowboy — the only thing to do is to go home and start dreaming up a great menu for the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend. At least there, no one cares if you’re not wearing pants.
For the sake of this story, let’s just say I took my panted self to the market with the intent to cook up some down home American fare to share with you. Spicy burgers, a great new potato salad, something with watermelon. But I got sidetracked by the shiny green poblanos and the fresh, local radishes just plucked from the spring dirt. So I shifted direction.
I’ve been slightly obsessed with radishes the past six months. For me, they’re a must have in a salad but where else can I use them? They do make a wonderful salsa but would they taste right with a poblano stuffed with rice, beans and cheese? You bet!! I grated the radishes and mixed them with mustard, rice vinegar, olive oil and black opal basil (the standard green stuff works just fine). For the stuffing, I tried out a microwavable organic wild rice mixture from Seeds of Change and added sauteed mushrooms and black beans.
Since no Mexican stuffed pepper is anything without cheese, I mixed in a Greek variety the market was sampling. Manouri cheese is a fresh semi-soft cheese made from the whey of feta production. The resulting product has a buttery flavor that is milder and less salty than feta. Interestingly, while feta is made in many other countries, Manouri is only made in central and northern Greece in Thessalia and regions of Macedonia. Similar to ricotta salata or farmer’s cheese, Manouri, in this recipe complements rather than masks or competes with the other flavors — especially the radish remoulade that gives this dish an unexpected punch.
Double the radish remoulade recipe for an excellent salad dressing for your work week. Just don’t forget your pants!
Recipe: Grilled Poblano Peppers with Black Beans, Wild Rice and Manouri Cheese served with Radish Remoulade
Serves: 4
Ingredients
4 small to medium Poblano chili peppers
1 tbl. olive oil
8 oz. chopped wild mushrooms
11/2 cup cooked wild rice (Seeds of Change Whole Grain Microwavable Rice)
1 16 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
4 oz. Manouri Greek cheese or feta
salt & pepper
1/2 lb. fresh red radish or daikon, finely grated
1 1/2 Tbl. Dijon mustard
1 1/2 Tbl.hot water
2 Tbl. olive oil
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1/4 black opal basil
kosher salt and fresh black pepper
Prepare the Stuffed Peppers
Heat oil in a medium pan over medium high heat until oil becomes glossy. Add mushrooms and sautee until all water evaporates from the pan. Add mushrooms and beans to the rice and let cool. Mix in the cheese and 2 Tbl. of the radish remoulade. Lay the poblanos flat and cut a T-shape into the top side of the peppers. Pry the peppers apart and remove all the seeds. Carefully stuff the rice mixture into the peppers. Heat a grill to medium high heat or oven to 400° (I prepared the peppers here in a grill pan). Cook the peppers until tender and slightly charred or browned around the edges. Serve with radish remoulade on the side or drizzled over the top of the peppers.
Prepare the Radish Remoulade
In a small bowl, whisk Dijon mustard with hot water. Slowly add olive oil until mixed. Add rice vinegar and mix in radish and basil. Season with salt and pepper.
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