Coconut Curry Quinoa Stuffed Poblanos

We love curry. Curry makes everything better. This dish was born from our love of curry and one of our rules in the kitchen: Never use water. (Okay. It’s my philosophy that water sucks and everything is better when you replace it. I don’t drink it and I won’t cook with it. – Zach)

Quinoa is great because it’s actually a protein that gets used like a grain. That means one less dish you have to use a faux meat in. The flavor from the quinoa is nutty and pairs well with both the slightly bitter taste of the poblanos and the sweet/heat of the coconut and curry.

2 poblano peppers
1 cup red quinoa (rinsed)
1 ½ cups coconut milk
1 can roasted tomatoes (14.5 Oz)
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 tablespoon red curry powder
olive oil/cooking spray
4 – 5 basil leaves, roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste
vegan sour cream (optional)

1. Preheat oven to broil.

2. While the oven is preheating, start the quinoa. Add the coconut milk to a pot along with ½ cup of liquid from the canned tomatoes and the tomatoes themselves. Bring this to a boil and add the curry paste, curry powder, salt and pepper. We use around 1 – 1 ½ tablespoons of both, but adjust this according to taste and the strength of the products.

3. Once the paste is fully dissolved add the quinoa and stir well. Cover the pot and dial the heat back from a boil to a simmer. Stir occasionally. The quinoa will cook for 20 – 25 minutes and is done when the germ is visible and each grain is translucent.

4. With the quinoa cooking, start on the peppers. Start at the top of the pepper, somewhere just above the stem, and cut them in half all the way down to the tip. You can leave the stems on. Clean them out, removing the seeds and membranes. Spray them on both sides and put them in the oven for about 7 – 10 minutes on each side. They’re ready when the skin is bubbled and black and the flesh is bright and tender.

5. The quinoa should be done around the same time as your peppers. To plate just spoon the quinoa into the peppers (we leave the skin on) and garnish with basil leaves and sour cream.