Farmers Market Inspiration!

Wednesday afternoon I finally made it to my local Farmers Market, after missing it for the past few weeks, and found some fantastic vegetables. This had me thinking dinner...what can I make for dinner? When I spotted the beautiful Anaheim chilies it came to me! Chili Relleno, roasted Anaheim's stuffed with goat cheese...hmmm. Then there were shiny red bell pepper, ah ha! Roasted red bell pepper sauce, I love roasted red peppers with goat cheese. There is nothing like a Farmers Market to inspire a great meal. Unfortunately there were no goat farmers at my market, so I was forced to buy my goat cheese at Trader Joe’s.
If you have never roasted a pepper it is really quite easy, the goal is to burn it! First you coat them with oil and then either place them under a broiler or over a flame (like the BBQ). Turn them occasionally until they are charred on all sides, the blacker the better. Then you place them in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, so that it steams. Let them sit for a bit covered, then start pealing the skin off. If you have rubber gloves this will keep you from staining your hands and perhaps keep from burning them also. Very important, DO NOT RINSE the peppers, this just washes away flavor!
In this recipe I am only feeding two of us so if you are feeding a crowd you will need to adjust the amounts.
4 large Anaheim Chilies roasted, and carefully de-seeded. I did this by taking the stem off and carefully scraping the seeds out with my finger...if there is an easier way please tell me. I wanted the chilies to remain whole. set them aside.
The filling:
4 oz soft goat cheese
½ cup shredded jack cheese
1/4 cup diced mild green chilies
mix all together with a fork and put in a plastic zip top bag
slice a corner of the bag, making a hole big enough that the chilies fit through, this is a quick disposable piping bag.

Red Pepper sauce:
In a blender;
3- 4 large red bell peppers roasted and de-seeded
2 garlic cubes (from Trader Joe’s) or 1 large garlic clove
½ teaspoon of cumin
1/4 of a cup of vegetable stock
blend until smooth
sea salt to taste
If the sauce is a little bitter add a dash of sugar or agave syrup.
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees

To assemble pour sauce into a baking pan (or individual pans like I did)
Carefully pipe cheese mixture into the Anaheim chilies, if they tear just put them seem side down.
Nestle the cheese filled chilies down in the sauce and pipe any remaining cheese mixture on top.
Bake for 20 minutes
When the 20 minutes are over turn the oven to broil and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheese on top is slightly golden.
Top with cilantro sour cream and serve with a side of black beans.

Recently I was thrilled to discover that Zinfandel is wonderful with spicy dishes, so while at Trader Joe’s I picked up an inexpensive Zin blend from Lodi California, about $6.
TBD Rouge 2007 is a combination wine with Zinfandel being the lead variety, followed by petite sirah and malbec.

This wine is robust and spicy with a dark ruby color and a fruit forward aroma. It was excellent with the black beans and the Relleno.
This was such a delicious dinner and almost entirely local, organic, healthy and home made! Almost!

Cheers and Bon Appetite!