Stuffed Piquillo Peppers with Charred Tomato Sauce

This is a recipe that I have been wanting to post for a while because it is BY FAR the best mexican dish I have EVER made! It is beyond delicious and of course my mom is the one who introduced it to me. My mom found it on cdkitchen.com but she added a few things and we changed it to make it vegetarian, so instead of steak, we stuff them with black beans and rice. These are a lot work, but totally worth it! The whole combination is amazing but the charred tomato sauce is INSANE!

RECIPE:

~12 piquillo peppers from a can or jar (I can only find them on Amazon.com) (this recipe is only 12 peppers so definitely double the recipe because they are just so good, you will want leftovers!)

Charred Tomato sauce

2 dried guajillo chiles, stems and seeds removed

3 cloves garlic

1 medium onion, thickly sliced

1 jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded, and thickly sliced

2 large tomatoes

2 cups water, can add more if necessary when you blend it

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)

Freshly ground pepper to taste

I add 1-2 tablespoons of honey , a little at a time, to taste because that’s what Bobby Flay would do.

Stuffing:

2 cans Black Beans

2 tablespoons olive oil and more if needed

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves minced garlic

3/4 cup diced peeled tomato

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Cilantro sprigs, for garnish

¾ cup Sour Cream

1 lime

½ cup Machengo cheese or cheddar cheese (or a little of both)

Stuffing: Cilantro Rice

3 cups of Rice

4 cups of water

4 tsp vegetable boullion

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 chopped onion

4 tsp minced garlic

½ bunch cilantro, chopped

1 can diced green chiles

½ tsp salt

Saute onion and garlic with butter until onion is soft. Add rice and water and all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and steam for about 15-20 minutes.

Directions:

Remove piquillo peppers from can or jar. Drain in colander and pat dry. Set aside covered in refrigerator.

For the tomato sauce: Toast the dried chiles in a hot dry skillet over medium-low heat. Press with a spatula. Do not toast more than 1-2 minutes. You want the chiles to soften a little and give off a whiff of chile fragrance but not darken. Set aside. Use the same skillet to toast the garlic, onion and jalapeno until caramelized and blackened on edges. Char the tomatoes over a gas flame using a long fork or under the broiler. They should be completely blackened. Cut the tomatoes in half. In a saucepan, place the guajillo chiles, blackened tomatoes, garlic, blackened onion and jalapeno. Add water, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes. Cool the sauce, then pour into a blender and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper as needed. Set the sauce aside while you prepare the stuffing.

For the stuffing: Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. Add onions and saute until they are really caramelized. Add garlic and lower heat a little. Add the tomato, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper and the black beans. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Chill the stuffing for at least 30 minutes so it will be easier to work with. (OR if you want to cut out a step, you can totally just used black beans without doctoring them up- because the sauce is so amazing, just drizzle extra of that over everything!)

To assemble: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. The piquillo peppers tear easily, so handle them carefully. Hold in the crook of your hand between your thumb and forefinger, like an ice cream cone. I like to use my fingers, of other hand, to carefully place the black beans and rice into the pepper. Use about a rounded tablespoon per pepper. Lay pepper down on flat plate and press a little. As you fill the peppers, lay side by side. When ready to serve, spread a half cup of the charred sauce in a heatproof dish and lay the filled peppers on top. Grate some Machengo Cheese over the top of the peppers. Place in oven for 8-10 minutes just to heat the peppers. Return the rest of the charred tomato sauce to a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Spread a few tablespoons sauce on each plate and top with stuffed piquillos. Garnish with a sprig of cilantro and the sour cream lime sauce.

Sour Cream Lime Sauce:

I make a sauce of ¾ cup of sour cream, the juice of one lime, ½ tsp of salt and some chopped cilantro. Stir together and spoon over the peppers when you serve them. Enjoy!