STUFFED POBLANO CHILES WITH RED RICE, DELICATA SQUASH, AND QUESO FRESCO

80 MINUTES (40 ACTIVE)

4 SERVINGS AND 1 LUNCH THE NEXT DAY

Traditional chiles rellenos are fantastic, but labor-intensive and rich. This version is packed with chewy brown rice, slightly sweet squash, and crunchy pumpkin seeds. It’s simple and wholesome at once.

•  1¼ cups Bhutanese red rice

•  Fine sea salt

•  1 small Delicata squash, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into ¼-inch semicircles (or smaller pieces if the squash is large; the pieces need to fit into the peppers)

•  1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil

•  Freshly ground black pepper to taste

•  2 tablespoons pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted

•  2 cups tomato puree

•  1 large onion, chopped

•  2 garlic cloves, 1 whole, 1 chopped

•  6 fresh cilantro sprigs

•  1 teaspoon ground cumin

•  ¼ cup crumbled queso fresco or fresh chèvre

•  ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

•  5 large poblano (pasilla) chiles, halved lengthwise, cored, and seeded

Preheat the oven to 400˚F.

Place the rice and 1¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons lightly salted water in a small saucepan with a lid. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and let the rice simmer gently, covered, for 25 minutes. Lift the lid, fluff the rice with a fork, and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. (You can cook the rice up to 2 to 3 days in advance; cool the rice and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

Toss the squash with 1 tablespoon of the oil and season with salt and black pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast until tender, 18 to 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350˚F.

In a blender, combine the tomato puree, half the onion, 1 garlic clove, and cilantro sprigs. Whiz until smooth and season to taste.

In a sauté pan, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and the remaining onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining garlic, chopped, and the cumin and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the rice and set aside to cool.

Stir ½ cup of the tomato mixture into the cooled rice mixture. Toss in the roasted squash, queso fresco, and chopped cilantro and season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Place the pepper halves in a large baking dish, skin side down. Fill each pepper half with about ¼ cup of the rice mixture. Combine the remaining tomato mixture with ½ cup water and pour it around the stuffed peppers. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and roast until the peppers are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and let the stuffing brown on top a bit, 5 to 6 minutes more.

Serve topped with the toasted pepitas.