Shrimp Stuffed Poblanos with Red Pepper Sauce

I definitely have spicier recipes to share with you in the future, but still... this one was very tasty and different than the usual. Normally if I were to stuff a poblano, it would either be beef or chicken. However, I came across this recipe at Epicurious.com and since I really love shrimp and CHEESE, I thought I'd give it a try. I expected the flavor to be richer than it was. I was pleasantly surprised when instead, I could taste the freshness of the flavors and not just shrimp and cheese.

I started by cooking the shrimp. I simply seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and gaujillo chile powder. The shrimp only takes about a minute to cook. As soon as it turns a pink color, get it out of the pan. That way, you'll have that cooked-perfectly crunchy-like texture that all shrimp lovers love. Chop up the shrimp into small pieces as it will become part of the stuffing for the peppers.

After charring my poblanos using the broiler in my beloved toaster oven, I followed the recipe's tip and placed the blackened peppers into a paper bag for 10 minutes. This proved to be very helpful, because when I opened the bag back up, the poblanos' skin had loosened and was very easy to remove.

Next, I combined the shrimp, goat cheese, monterey jack cheese, red pepper, shallot, cilantro and basil to create the stuffing for the peppers.

I stuffed the peppers, which was a delicate process because remember, these peppers have been roasted and peeled, so they weren't the strongest things in the world. However, it was do-able and they were ready to go into the toaster oven (or oven if that's what you're using).


As the peppers baked, I prepared the red pepper sauce. Here's where the hot peppers come in. I started by using a different method of roasting a red pepper. This time I did it over an open burner flame. This is the way I normally do it and it's the most fun as far as I'm concerned. However, you have to watch it until it's done - no leaving something like this unattended! I only roasted half a pepper because I was cooking for one this time.

Next, I sauteed the shallots, garlic and jalapeno, then put the mixture into a blender. After the pepper on the burner was done roasting, I removed the skin, chopped it up and threw that in the blender as well. I added chicken broth, salt and pepper and pureed the mixture. That's it for the sauce!

Plate this pretty dish by pouring some roasted red pepper sauce on the plate to cover the bottom, then place your stuffed poblanos on top. Give it a shot! Expand your Mexican food repertoire to more than just beef, beans and cheese. You'll be happy you did!