Poblano Chilies With Black Beans And Cheese

As a third-century man was anticipating death, he penned these last words to a friend: “It's a bad world, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians—and I am one of them.”

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CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Grains, Dairy			8	Servings

INGREDIENTS

8		Poblano chilies
1	T	Olive oil
3	c	Thinly sliced onions
2		15-16 oz black beans
		rinsed and drained
1/4	t	Cayenne pepper
1	c	Reduced-fat grated Monterey
		Jack cheese about 4 oz
		Tomato salsa
1/2	c	Fat free sour cream

INSTRUCTIONS

From Bon Appetit Sept 1997 (p 197)  Preheat broiler. Arrange chilies on
a baking sheet and broil until  charred on all sides, turning
occassionally -about 20 minutes.  Enclose in paper bag and let stand 10
min, to make skin easier to  remove. Peel chilies. Cut one lengthwise
slit in each chili and  carefully remove the seeds. Meanwhile heat the
oil in a large  non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and
saute until  golden, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Spread onions  evenly in 13x9x2 glass baking dish (this provides a bed
to keep the  chilies from sticking and burning, along with adding
flavor). Preheat  oven to 350F. Mash half the beans with the cayenne in
a medium bowl.  Mix in remaining beans. Spoon mixture into chilies.
Arrange chilies,  seam side down, atop the onions. Sprinkle with
cheese. Cover with  foil (can be made 4 hours ahead and chilled at this
point). Bake  chilies, covered, 15 minutes. Uncover and bake another 5
minutes or  so, until the cheese melts. Serve with salsa and sour
cream.  OK, I would probably skip the char and peel with the smaller
chilies.  And just stuff them with cheese, or a mixture of cheese and
cream  cheese. I would only make a small slit to do this, to avoid
problems  with losing the filling. To get a crust without deep frying,
I would  dip them in beaten egg, then roll them in crumbs. Flavoring
the  crumbs with a bit of cayenne or using finely crushed tortilla
chips  instead of crumbs would be nice touches. I probably wouldn't
bother  with the onion bed, but would grease the pan well instead. And
lay  them in it slit side up to keep the cheese filling in. And
probably  bake them uncovered (probably about the same 15-20 minutes),
to keep  the crumbs crisp and melt the filling. Spraying a bit of
margarine or  oil on first would add a bit of extra crispy crunch.
Posted to EAT-L  Digest  by Kim Malo <kmalo19@IDT.NET> on Aug 28, 1997

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients) ---------------------------------------------- Calories: 297 Calories From Fat: 99 Total Fat: 11.2g Cholesterol: 26.2mg Sodium: 587.5mg Potassium: 507.7mg Carbohydrates: 31.8g Fiber: 10.2g Sugar: 3.2g Protein: 18.4g