With those beautiful green poblano peppers I bought at the market last week, I made the ‘chilli’ from Melissa Clark’s Vegetarian Tamale Pie in NY Times Cooking; I stuffed the chilli in red peppers with nut cheeses and baked them. It made a rather tasty hot, comforting lunch on a dull, grey, cool summer day.
I had left overs that made this dish easy to make. I had my black beans (see post dated 28 January 2026), some cashew nut ‘sour cream’ and cashew nut ‘cheddar cheese’ (see blog 22 January 2022) all ready to go!
Mexican Spiced Stuffed Red Peppers
Ingredients
1 red pepper, halved, stem and seed removed (per serving)
2 spoonfuls of cashew nut ‘sour cream’
2 slices cashew nut ‘cheddar cheese’ (see post dated 22 January 2022)
Chilli Filling
900 grams green or red tomatoes (or tomatillos)
1 red onion + 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
4 fresh poblanos
6 cloves garlic + 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tsp hot chilli powder
2 tsp Mexicano oregano
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves and stems
1 tbs fresh lime juice
1-2 tsp Himalayan sea salt
2 cups black beans (see post dated 28 January 2026 or use 1-2 cans organic black beans, rinsed)
1-2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped in to small pieces (if using 2 cans beans, omit)
Method
To make the chilli, preheat the oven to 200c. On a ceramic baking sheet, lined with baking paper, place the tomatoes (or tomatillos), green poblanos (poked with a knife so they don’t blow up in the oven), onion and garlic cloves with skin on and one end trimmed. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. When finished baking, place in a glass tupperware container and seal. Set aside to cool for about 10-15 minutes.
Scrub and peel the potatoes and chop into small pieces. Take out the beans. Peel and chop the onion and garlic.
When the baked vegetables are cool enough to handle, remove the skins from the tomatoes, peel the onion and quarter, remove the outer skins from the garlic and peel the outer skin from the poblanos as well as the stems and seeds. Add all the vegetables to a blender along with the cilantro, lime juice and salt. Blend until smooth. Set aside.
Heat up a non stick ceramic pan. Saute the second onion and 2 cloves of garlic with a pinch of salt on a low medium heat for several minutes covered. Remove the lid and add the oregano, cumin and chilli powder. Mix through. Add in the beans, potatoes and the blended roasted vegetables. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes until you have the consistency of a chilli. Stir regularly so the beans and tomatoes do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
At this stage you can store the chilli in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. It can be used in burritos bowls, burritos, tacos, nachos, tostados …
Preheat the oven to 180c.
Take the red pepper halves and place a scoop of cashew nut cream along the bottom of each half. Stuff each pepper half full with the chilli. Place on a non stick ceramic baking sheet and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the red pepper can be pierced easily with a fork. A few minutes before the peppers finish cooking, add slices of cashew nut ‘cheddar cheese’ on top.
Serve and eat right away!
