Charred Chili Relleno With Green Rice - Rachael Ray

• cups chicken stock or 4 cups vegetable stock, divided↗4
• bay leaf↗1
• cups white rice↗2
• large poblano peppers↗4
• cups black beans↗3
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil or 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided3
• red onion, chopped↗1
• jalapeno, seeded and chopped↗1
• garlic cloves, chopped↗4
• (15 ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained well1
• teaspoons ground cumin, 1/2 palm full↗1 1⁄2
• teaspoon dried chili powder, eyeball it in your palm↗1⁄2
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• cup fresh cilantro leaves↗1⁄2
• lb spinach leaves, deveined and coarsely chopped↗1⁄2
• scallions, coarsely chopped↗4
• limes, juice and zest of↗2
• cup shredded monterey jack pepper cheese or 1 cup monterey jack cheese1

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Preheat broiler or grill pan to high.

2. 2

   Heat about 3 1/2 cups stock in a sauce pot with a bay leaf to boiling. Add rice, cover pot reduce heat to low and simmer 18 minutes until tender.

3. 3

   Place poblanos under broiler or on hot grill and char evenly all over, 15 minutes.

4. 4

   While peppers and rice are working,heat 2 tablespoons light oil in a skillet over high heat. When the oil smokes or ripples add beans, onion, jalapenos and toss until the vegetables char at edges and onions are tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high and add in garlic, fire roasted tomatoes and season with cumin, chili, salt and pepper. Cook another minute or 2 then turn pan off.

5. 5

   Place the cilantro, spinach, scallions, lime zest, half a cup of stock and a tablespoon of oil in food processor and process into coarse green paste. Stir into your rice pot in the last 3 to 4 minutes of its cooking time. Sprinkle the lime juice over the bean mixture.

6. 6

   Split the charred peppers open but not in half with small sharp knife then scoop out the seeds with a small spoon. Place peppers in a shallow baking dish and stuff each split pepper with lots of the corn mix, top each pepper with 1/4 cup cheese and place back under broiler to melt and char the cheese. Serve peppers on beds of green rice.

7. 7

   **Note:** I substituted black beans, for corn. The original recipe calls for corn off the cob or frozen. I am a corn purist and only like it on the cob, but by all means use corn if you wish. I also substituted chili power for oregano as I am not much of an oregano kind of girl.