Eatdrink #42 July/August 2013

60 www.eatdrink.ca
Chiles stuffed with beans
Author’s note: I like to use fat, mildly piquant,
poblano chiles or piquillo peppers for this dish. But
if you can’t get hold of stuffable large chiles, you
can use small red or yellow bell peppers instead.
Serves 6 as a starter, 2 or 3 as a main course
6 large, fresh poblano chiles
1 tablespoon canola or olive oil
2 or 3 shallots or 1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
6 ounces/150 to 200g fresh, ripe tomatoes
1 (14-ounce/400g) can beans, such as borlotti,
pinto or lima beans, drained and rinsed
A bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the garlicky yogurt (optional)
6 tablespoons/90g plain full-fat yogurt or sour
cream
½ garlic clove, crushed
1 Preheat the broiler to high. Lay the chiles on
a baking sheet and broil, turning from time to
time, until the skins begin to char. Leave until
cool enough to handle, then carefully peel away
the skins, taking care to keep the chiles whole.
Cut around and remove the stalks and a flap of
flesh to form a “lid”. Carefully scrape out all the
seeds and membranes from inside the chiles
and lids, and tip out any juice.
2 Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Heat the oil in
a frying pan over medium-low heat, then gently
sauté the shallots and garlic until soft, about 10
minutes. Slice the tomatoes in half and grate
their flesh straight into the pan, holding back
the skin. Simmer for a minute or two to reduce
slightly. Remove from the heat.
3 Add the drained beans to the pan and coarsely
mash some of them with a fork so they break
up a little - don’t over do it, you want plenty of
them to stay whole. Add the chopped cilantro,
cumin, and paprika, mix well, and season
with salt and pepper to taste. Carefully stuff
the mixture into the chilies and top with the
lids. Lay the stuffed chiles in a lightly oiled
ovenproof dish and bake for 20 minutes.
4 While the chiles are in the oven, combine the
yogurt with the crushed garlic and some salt
and pepper, if serving, and set aside.
5 Serve the stuffed chiles hot, with a spoonful of
garlicky yogurt if you like, and a crisp, green salad.
ED note: Don’t worry if not all your lids survive the
scraping out process. The bean filling toasts up
nicely where exposed.
№ 42 | July/August 2013
Roasted eggplant “boats”
Author’s note: This is a really simple but delicious
way to cook eggplants. Usually I serve them with
fresh mint and yogurt, but I’ve also tried smearing
them with a little homemade pesto, which is lovely.
To make a meal of them, serve alongside a simple
couscous salad, or just a green salad and some hot
flatbreads.
Serves 2 to 4
2 large eggplants (about 1½ pounds/700g)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 or 3 pinches dried chili flakes, or ½ to 1 large
fresh red chili, seeded and finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for trickling
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
4 to 6 tablespoons/65 to 90g thick, plain full-fat
yogurt, plus about 8 mint leaves, shredded,
or 2 to 3 tablespoons pesto.
1 Preheat the oven to 375ºF/190ºC. Cut the
eggplants in half lengthwise. Using a small,
sharp knife, make a series of deep slashes
diagonally across the flesh, going about twothirds
of the way into the flesh, but not right
through to the skin. You want to end up with
6 to 10 slashes, ½-inch/1 to 2cm apart in each,
depending on the size of your eggplants.