These Picadillo Stuffed Poblano Peppers want to be part of your life! They’re a great curveball for your weeknight kitchen rotation and will instantly light up the faces at the dinner table. Including yours :) Here's how to make them...
If you’re new to Picadillo, it’s a hearty beef mixture that will quickly become part of your comfort food repertoire. It’s loaded with potatoes, carrots, and a roasted tomato-jalapeno sauce. You can serve it up in a number of ways, but when you stuff it in some roasted Poblanos it becomes off-the-charts satisfying!
To build the Picadillo, I usually start by roasting the tomatoes in the oven. They’ll need about 30 minutes to fully roast, but it’s okay to just pull them out of the oven when you need them.
As the tomatoes roast you can build the rest of the dish on the stove-top. Saute 1/4 onion in a glug of oil over medium heat. When the onion is starting to brown you can add 2 minced garlic cloves. Saute briefly and then add a single pound of ground beef and a teaspoon of salt. Once the ground beef is browned you can drain off any fat if you want, and then add a diced potato and carrot.
By now the tomatoes are usually roasted enough, so grab ’em from the oven and add them to a blender along with: 1/2 onion 2 garlic cloves 1 jalapeno (or more for a spicy version)
Add this tomato-jalapeno mixture to the pan along with: 1 teaspoon cumin (optional) freshly cracked black pepper 1 cup stock (or water) 2 teaspoons chile powder (optional) Combine well, bring it up to temp, then reduce heat and let simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.
Once the beef is simmering you can get to work on the Poblanos! Note that you can just cut them in half and de-seed for a quick version. But for this batch I carved out the top third of the Poblano to give them some raised edges, otherwise known as a Poblano boat!
You’ll definitely want to roast your Poblanos before serving. This will accomplish two awesome things: First, roasting them really enhances and deepens their flavor, so please don’t skip this step! And second, roasting will soften them up and make them easier to eat. 20 minutes in a 400F oven does the job quite well.
Once the Poblanos are done roasting you can start loading them up with the Picadillo. If everything is piping hot you can serve up your stuffed peppers as is, or you can put them back in the oven for a few minutes to come back to temp.
Feel free to garnish with your choice of fixings. I topped these with Queso Fresco, cilantro stems, and a final squeeze of lime.
And they were dee-licious :) The beef mixture is already satisfying by itself, but when you combine it with the roasted Poblano flavor it’s a match made in heaven (your kitchen). It’s a wonderful combo and I hope you try it out! Enjoy!! Click the 'Get the recipe!' button below to see the full instructions.