A handful of years ago, my mother moved away from Sarasota (gasp!) to a sleepy little town in the mountains of southern Colorado.  Eventually I got over my fit of pique with her for leaving me, and now (especially summer and early fall) visits deliver crisp, clean air, gorgeous mountain vistas, wonderful company, and a great meal or two.

Tyson and I travelled to Pagosa Springs about a month ago.  Among the many things to do here, one can hop between almost-scalding pools and baths that dot the banks of the San Juan River and the freezing water of the river itself.  I’d recommend an all-day experience, with a break for lunch in the middle.

The day we went to the springs, we stopped midday at a crowded joint packed with people, from business-types to road workers.  The common denominator?  They were all local, which is always a good sign.

We had great meal at Kip’s Grill and Cantina of classic Southwest cuisine, prominently featuring beautiful chiles from hatch to habanero and poblano to piquillo.    

My favorite dish was this simple plate of roasted poblanos, stuffed with delicious, oozy cheese, served with warm tortillas and plenty of house made hot sauce.   I had to try to reinvent it back home, and, since then, this has become one of those meals my family can’t stop making. Or eating.

8 medium-sized poblanos

0.5 lb prepared taco meat, tofu, or sauteed chorizo

16-oz block of low-moisture mozzarella

Dried oregano (optional, to taste)

 

8 taco-size tortillas (flour or corn, dealer’s choice)

Fresh pico de gallo

Sour cream and/or guacamole

Lime wedges

Cilantro

Hot sauce(s)

 

 

First, char the whole peppers.  This can be accomplished one of three ways, in order of ease: (a) turn on your oven broiler to high for a couple minutes, pop the whole peppers on a sheet pan, and broil until charred thoroughly all over, rotating a few times with grill tongs during charring to destroy all of the uncooked skin; (b) if you have a gas stove (or Bunsen burner if you’re feeling all science-y), turn a burner on medium-low flame, char each pepper individually on all sides, holding with grill tongs; or (c) apply (b) using a gas or charcoal grill, which seems like too much unnecessary effort.  If choosing method (a), set sheet pan aside—you can use it later.

Then steam the peppers. Let the peppers cool for a couple minutes (max), just so no plastic touching them will melt, and either (a) put them into a zip-top plastic bag, closing to allow the peppers to steam; or (b) put in a glass or ceramic mixing bowl, covering tightly with plastic wrap.  Allow to steam for 10 mins or more.

Meanwhile, prepare taco meat or other protein.  The first time I made this, I used the pre-packaged vegan chorizo from Trader Joe’s, sautéing in a neutral oil with a spoon of oregano until browned in places. This was my favorite (and quickest) prep, but you could prepare meat or tofu with a package of taco seasoning or even deploy leftover meat from another meal.  I like the addition of the herby oregano in this recipe, but it’s all really your choice.

Pull the peppers out of their vessel and remove the skins, which should slip off easily.   Discard the skins.  Gently slice an opening length-wise in one side of each pepper, and carefully remove as many seeds as you can.  This isn’t to exile heat from the dish (poblanos are so mild anyway), but I find the seeds texturally off-putting.  

Heat the oven broiler to high. Slice up the cheese into finger-size sticks, and stuff the peppers with the cheese and place on greased baking sheet or into oiled cast iron skillet. Put into oven and broil until the cheese is bubbling and charred in places.

Serve with warm tortillas, pico (I made my own with an equal mix of cherry tomatoes, peaches, onions, and cilantro, with lime juice and plenty of salt), lime wedges, cilantro, sour cream and/or guacamole, and a variety of hot sauces.