These Stuffed Peppers are sort of inspired from the Chile Relleno. I wanted to do a lighter healthier Stuffed Pepper that wasn’t fried and wasn’t solid with cheese. As delicious as real Chile Rellenos are sometimes they can be like a Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza and can feel like an over dose of cheese. The potato cuts out a lot of the fat from all that cheese. This stuffed pepper has a baked whole wheat panko baked crust enhanced with masa for a sort of taco-ish flavor. I made them two different ways.  One was cooked down skinless tomatoes with a little onion, garlic, oregano  salt and pepper and for a different taste the other was covered with enchilada sauce. These Baked Breaded Roasted Poblano Peppers Stuffed with Pepper Jack Cheese Potatoes are very tasty……People will enjoy them! Depending on the size of your peppers you might have leftover potatoes. My poblanos were very small so I had leftover that I just rolled into balls and rolled the balls into the masa, eggs and panko and baked them off along with the stuffed peppers….it was like two treats in one.

Ingredients for about 8 servings

8 poblano peppers – roasted with skin, seeds and stem removed

2 lbs potatoes – peeled, cut in half, covered with cold water in a sauce pot

1/2 onion – peeled (to boil with potatoes)

1 banana pepper – cut in half (to boil with poatoes)

1 garlic clove (to boil with potatoes)

1 Tablespoon kosher salt (to boil with poatoes

8 oz pepper jack cheese – shredded

2 oz sweet butter – room temperature

1/4 cup scallions

1/4 cup cilantro

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

pinch oregano

fresh ground sea salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 egg – lightly beaten (for potato mixture)

1 cup masa (for batter bowl #1)

2 eggs beaten (for batter bowl #2)

1 Tablespoon dijon (for batter bowl #2)

splash water (for Batter bowl #2)

2 cups whole wheat panko bread crumbs (for batter bowl #3)

1/4 cup masa (for batter bowl #3)

Fresh ground sea salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

Non stick spay

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F

Spray baking sheet with non stick spray

Put your sauce pot with potatoes, onion, banana pepper, garlic, kosher salt and cold water to cover contents of pot on medium high heat. Cook until the potatoes are tender.

(about 20 minutes) Discard the garlic, onion and banana pepper. You might want to save the potato water for a sauce, soup or bread making or throw out if you are not using it for something else. After the potatoes are drained hand mash them till smooth with butter, cheese, scallions cilantro, white pepper, oregano, sea salt and black pepper to taste. After you are satisfied with the taste hand mix in one egg and set the mixture to the side.

Set up the breading station.

Bowl #1 is masa

Bowl #2 eggs, splash water, Tablespoon dijon

Bowl # ww panko, 1/4 c. masa, salt and pepper

Poblano pepper gets coated in bowl #1 with the masa, then get a coating of egg mixture and then gets panko coated. Repeat till all the peppers are coated.

Cut the end of a disposable pastry bag off.

Fill half way with potato mixture and fold end down over your hand.

Twist end so mixture doesn’t fall out.

Grab a pepper with your non dominate hand and hold it open so you can fill it.

Squeeze filling into pepper but leave enough room so you can seal pepper shut.

Fold down the ends.

Put the pepper on a sprayed baking sheet and repeat till all the peppers are stuffed and sealed.

They go in the oven for about 25 minutes.

Serve with either a cooked oregano laced tomato sauce or enchilada sauce.

Enjoy!