Polenta & Cheese Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Regular old green peppers wreak havoc with my digestive system.  They repeat on me in a most un-lady like way.  Not so with red, yellow or orange peppers or, as I have pleasantly discovered, poblanos – those dark green, mildly hot and smoky peppers that totally rock when roasted and stuffed with creamy polenta and cheese.

I’ve had this recipe in my recipe file to try for 2 years now.  Recently, Whole Foods had the most beautiful, deep and dark green poblanos and I couldn’t resist a moment longer. All I needed to buy was a little roll of creamily wonderful goat cheese and I was good to go.  The recipe comes from Real Simple.  It is easy, hearty, delicious and Gluten-Free!  Here’s how easy it is:

Gorgeous peppers, tomatoes and onion, tossed with a little olive oil and ready to broil for a few minutes.

Roasted and ready to go!

Add the roasted tomatoes and onions and whir it all into a lovely sauce. Sauce is done in about 30 seconds!

Meanwhile, boil your polenta until thick and hot. Add the corn, goat cheese and scallions to the hot polenta. Creamy and cheesy and comforting.

Layer half of the sauce in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Place the peppers on top of the sauce and spoon the cheesy polenta into the peppers.

Serve with the sauce spooned on top. Add the rest of the scallions as a garnish. Creamy and cheesy and comforting.

• 4 plum tomatoes halved
• 1 red onion cut into wedges
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 poblano peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 10-ounce package frozen organic corn
• 1/4 cup soft goat cheese (about 2 ounces)
• 1/2 cup instant polenta
• 4 scallions, sliced

1. Heat broiler. On a rimmed broiler-proof baking sheet, toss the tomatoes, onion and olive oil. Turn the tomatoes cut side down. Place peppers on the sheet, cut side down
2. Broil until tender and charred, stirring the onions and turning the tomatoes and peppers halfway through, 5 to 8 minutes.
3. Heat oven to 400° F. In a food processor, puree the tomatoes, onion, cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper until smooth. Spread half the sauce in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange the peppers in the dish, cut-side up.
4. In a medium saucepan, bring 2 ¼ cups water to a boil. Add ½ teaspoon salt. Gradually whisk in the polenta. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the corn, cheese, and all but 2 tablespoons of the scallions.
5. Divide the polenta among peppers. Top with the remaining sauce and bake until heated through, 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining scallions before serving.

Kate’s Tips

• Use regular tomatoes if you can’t get plum tomatoes.
• If you don’t like poblano peppers, try regular bell peppers.
• Feel free to use a big Vidalia onion if you like.
• The cinnamon adds a subtle, southwestern little kick.  Try it, it’s really wonderful!
• In the summer, fresh corn sliced off the cob would be delicious instead of frozen corn.
• The goat cheese really melts beautifully into the polenta.  It’s tangy quality is understated.  I wish I had used twice the amount the recipe called for. I will next time!
• This would be good with fresh salsa if you didn’t want to make the roasted tomato and onion sauce.
• Next time, I might roast some garlic along with the tomatoes and onions.