Chiles Rellenos with Quinoa filling

I had a hankering for something spicy and hearty the other day - so I decided to try to recreate these amazing chile rellenos I had when we were in Santa Fe last year. True - there's a bit of labor involved - AND it's vegetarian (I can feel some of you dropping off already) - but like always, it's worth the effort.


CHILES RELLENOS WITH QUINOA FILLING
Serves 2-4

Ingredients
2-4 Poblano chiles (Anaheim will also work)
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1/2 pound shitake or other mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 large onion, diced
1 cup feta cheese
1 pound spinach, rinsed and stemmed
1 can ancho chiles in adobo sauce (you will use a very small portion)
1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Make the quinoa filling: 
Feel free to customize this filling to your taste - substituting other vegetables and ingredients. You can also use this quinoa recipe as well. 

Bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt , then the quinoa. Give it a stir, then cover and ismmer over low heat until the grains are tender and reveal their spiraled germ (about 15 minutes).

While the quinoa is cooking, warm the oil in a wide skillet. Add the onions and saute slowly over medium-low heat until they are very soft and golden brown (about 20 minutes). Then, add the garlic and  mushrooms, raising the heat slightly to saute them. When the mushrooms are cooked, slowly add in the spinach until it is wilted. When quinoa is cooked, add it to the skillet, blending all ingredients well. Taste for seasoning - adding salt and pepper as desired. When filling has cooled - crumble in the feta cheese. Set aside. Can be made a day ahead.

Prep the chiles:

Roast the chiles over open flame until the skin is blistered and completely black. Transfer immediately to a glass bowl and cover bowl tightly with saran wrap while the chiles cool (this will loosen the skins to make them easy to peel). When cool, gently remove charred skin from chiles. Keeping stem in tact, carefully create an opening on one side of the chile - slicing vertically so that you can remove the seeds and membrane. Rinse and pat dry. Repeat for remaining chiles.

Stuff the chiles:

Taste and adjust the seasoning for the filling one last time, then, gently beat an egg in a small bowl and drizzle it over the quinoa filling, incorporating it into the filling. Take each chile one by one, carefully stuffing them through the opening on the side. Be generous with the filling so that the chiles are quite large and filled out. Place each chile "seam side down" onto a lightly oiled baking sheet or glass baking dish. Roast in oven until warmed through (about 15-25 minutes)

Adobo sauce:

While the chiles are roasting, make the sauce. Carefully separate out 1 chile from your chiles in adobo sauce. Depending on your heat tolerance, dice about 1/2 a chile and about a tablespoon of the sauce. Use more if you want to make it very spicy). In a small saucepan, combine the chicken stock, diced chile and adobo sauce and warm to a boil. Lower heat, adding the half and half or cream until the sauce thickens slightly. Taste for seasoning, making it more spice by adding more chile, or less spicy, adding more chicken stock and cream. 

Place a 1/4 cup of sauce ladled onto a plate, placing a warm chile relleno on top. Drizzle with additional sauce if desired. Serve immediately.