Cheese-Stuffed Anaheim Chili Pepper

The pepper crop from Concord Farms is rolling in, and we've been using them as fast as we can. We have pickled a bunch of jalapeños, used fragrant green bell peppers for the filling of a socca crepe, and been lit on fire by some unidentified pepper that looks a lot like a devil's horn.


We are pepper-rich these days with almost every kind of pepper you can imagine -- except poblanos.  No poblano, no problem-o. This is a dish similar to the ubiquitous "Chili Poblano" you will find on the menu at most Mexican restaurants.We used the light green variety of Anaheim peppers in the place of the poblanos with delicious results. 


Cheese-Stuffed Anaheim Chili Pepper

6 Anaheim peppers (about 5 inches long)
1/2 pound smoked Gouda (shredded)
1 cup canola oil (for frying)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Spiced Batter (recipe follows)
Chipotle Tomato Sauce (recipe follows)
sour cream 
Mexican crema (to garnish)
finely chopped pickled jalapeño (optional, to garnish)


Using a paring knife, make a slit all the way down the long end of the pepper without going through to the other side. Gently open the pepper and insert your knife in order to cut the seeds loose from the top of the pepper. Pull out the seeds with your hands. Stuff each pepper loosely with the Gouda cheese. Repeat until all peppers are stuffed. 


In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, heat the canola oil until it shimmers.


Dust each pepper in the flour in order to allow the batter to adhere to the pepper's slick skin. Roll each stuffed pepper one at a time through the Spiced Batter and make sure every surface is covered. (This will keep the cheese from leaking.)


Lay the pepper into the hot oil and allow it to cook for about 2 minutes before turning. Once all sides are golden brown, remove the pepper and place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet in a 350-degree oven to keep warm. It's best to fry the peppers in batches of 2 or 3.


To serve, place a spoonful of the Chipotle Tomato Sauce onto the center of a plate, top that with one Cheese-Stuffed Anaheim, and garnish with sour cream and pickled peppers. It goes well with rice and beans on the side.


Spiced Batter

1 egg (beaten)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon finely chopped cilantro
sea salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)


Mix the egg, flour, water, garlic, cilantro, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Use a whisk to work out any lumps. The batter should be thicker than pancake batter.



Chipotle Tomato Sauce 

2 cups chopped Roma tomato
1 smoked chipotle pepper (from a can)
1 cup sweet onion
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons tomato paste
sea salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)

Place the tomato pepper, onion, chili powder, cumin, and tomato paste into the work bowl of your food processor and blend until smooth. Place mixture into a medium pot over medium heat and allow mixture to cook until thickened. Stir the mixture often to prevent the bottom from scorching. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.