Chile Relleno Quinoa Bites

Chile Relleno Quinoa Bites
(adapted from Winner Dinners)

yield: approximately 3 dozen bites

For the bites:

• 1/2 cup of quinoa (plus 1 – 1 1/2 cups of water, for cooking)
• 1/2 cup of polenta (plus 2 cups of water, for cooking)
• 2–3 roasted poblano peppers, peeled, de-seeded, and diced (I used 2, but I think it could have used a little more spice)
• 1 cup of cheddar cheese (smoked cheddar, if you can find it or try leaving out the cheese for less sat fat.)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup of tomato purée
• a few dashes of salt and pepper
• breadcrumbs if necessary — just enough to make the batter mold-able

For the dipping sauce:

• 2 cups of tomato purée
• 1 roasted jalapeno pepper, peeled, de-seeded, and diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• a few pinches of oregano
• salt and pepper, to taste

To roast the peppers:

Preheat the oven to 450°. Rub the outside of your jalapeno and poblanos with olive oil and place on a baking tray. Roast peppers until skin begins to blacken and blister. Turn peppers and roast until the other side does the same. Remove from oven and transfer to a paper bag. Seal bag and let the peppers sit for about 15 minutes (this helps them steam, and makes removing the skin much easier). Once they are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins, then cut open the peppers and remove the seeds. Dice peppers and set aside.

To make the bites:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Bring water for quinoa to a boil, then add quinoa, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Once all of the water has been absorbed, remove from heat and set aside. Do the same for the polenta. (Most polenta recipes recommend constant stirring, but I really don’t think that’s necessary for these purposes. Just it a few times in the beginning, then cover it and keep an eye on it.)

Combine together everything except for the breadcrumbs and mix until well combined. If your batter seems a bit wet, add breadcrumbs until it takes on a sticker, more-solid texture.

Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat or parchment paper. Form bites into 1 1/4-inch balls, and place fairly close together (they don’t need much room). Bake for 20–30 minutes, or until they begin to brown and the outside, and feel a bit crispy to the touch.

For the dipping sauce:

While the bites are baking, saute onion over medium heat in a saucepan until translucent. Add garlic and saute for a couple minutes more, then add everything else (tomato purée, jalapeno, and spices). Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for around 20 minutes. Remove from heat a let cool a little bit, then purée sauce in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Serve while the bites are nice and hot!

Taken from Reclaiming Provincial