Bean Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Ancho-Guajillo Chile Sauce

The Guajillo (wha-hee-oh) chile is the most common dried chile in Mexico after the Ancho. The flavor of the Guajillo is distinct, slightly fruity with a strong piney, berry under taste. Guajillo flavors dished easily so a little goes a long way. This chile is between a 2-4 on the heat scale of 1-10. Guajillo, combined with the Passilla and Ancho, form the holy trinity of chiles used to prepare the traditional mole sauces.

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A vegan Mexican meal that even the meat lover will love! No fancy ingredients needed for this filling and flavourful meal.
Ingredients
  • about 2 cups of mashed (refried) pinto beans
  • 4 medium poblano pepper
  • 2 dried ancho chiles
  • 2 dried guajillo chiles
  • 1 medium roma tomato
  • half a very small piece of onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • boiling liquid, see step 3
  • pinch of ground cloves
  • large pinch of sea salt
  • 2 leaves of fresh epazote torn into 4 pieces, optional
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil or oil of choice
Instructions
  1. Make sure you have the mashed (refried) pinto beans ready to go and kept warm. First we will start preparing the sauce: place the dried peppers, tomato, onion and garlic in a pot of water and allow to simmer until everything is soft. This will take about 10-15 minutes. While you’re waiting you can get started on charring the poblano peppers.
  2. Over an open flame char the 4 poblano peppers evenly on all sides. You could also do this under the broiler setting in your open, just make sure to leave enough space between the peppers and flip over once to evenly char. The third way to do the charing is on a comal or griddle or pan. While you are charring the peppers make sure to keep and eye on the pot or sauce ingredients, if they have soften turn heat off and set aside to cool. Continue with the charing the poblano peppers. Make sure that they are not only charred evenly, but also soft throughout. Once you have charred the poblanos place them on a plate and cover with plastic kitchen wrap to allow them to sweat and so that the skin will come off easily. Leave them for about 5-8 minutes. Once the peppers have cooled and you can handle them, use a butter knife or your fingers to scrape/peel away all the charred skin on the outside of the peppers. Then make a small incision along the length of each pepper and scoop out the seeds and vein in each poblano, discard them. Set aside.
  3. Now we can finish the sauce. Gently scoop out the tomato from the pot and remove the skin from it, then place it in the blender. Next, scoop out the garlic and onions and add them to the blender too. Now remove the peppers from the boiled liquid and place on a cutting board, pull away the stem and remove the seeds then add the boiled peppers to the blender. Next add the pinch of ground cloves, sea salt and epazote leaves, if using, to the blender. Blend for a minute or two to break up the ingredients then add ⅓ cup of the boiling liquid and continue to blend until you have a smooth sauce. Heat the olive oil and once hot pour in the salsa, careful as it might splash up. Cook for 5 minutes, taste and adjust salt if necessary.
  4. Ladle some sauce onto each plate. Now we will stuff and plate the peppers. Scoop warm mash/refried beans into each pepper cavity then place on top of sauce on each plate. If desired, drizzle more sauce over each pepper. Serve with corn tortillas and Mexican rice if desired.
Notes
– Please notice that poblano peppers are generally mild, but on some occasions they can be spicier. If you are sensitive to chile burns I urge you to use gloves when handling all of the peppers.

– Both Ancho and Guajillo peppers are mild, but again on some occasions Guajillos can be surprisingly mildly spicy.

From spiciefoodie.com