Photo illustration by Lille Allen; see below for full credits
What better way to use up leftover rice than by putting it in a pepper and covering it with cheese?
Leftover rice is one ingredient I always have sitting in my fridge. If there’s a lot, I gently steam it to reheat or turn it into fried rice. But when there’s only a little, things can actually get more interesting.
Sometimes, I’ll fry the grains in olive oil to sprinkle over salad, or I’ll make a crispy rice-bottomed frittata. But perhaps my favorite move is to use the rice in stuffed poblanos, which also feature pinto beans and are topped with melted pepper jack cheese.
The beauty of this recipe is that it’s adaptable to pretty much any amount of leftover rice you have. The goal is to end up with about two cups of filling. Here, I’m going with a 50-50 rice-to-beans ratio, but if you have less rice, use more beans. If you have more rice, use fewer beans.
Start by turning on your broiler. (I like to make sure my oven rack is moved one up from the middle, so it’s closer to the flame than usual.) Cut 2 large poblano peppers lengthwise down the middle, removing the tough stem if it gets in your way. Poblanos are mild, earthy, and slightly smoky. You can substitute sweeter — and more cavernous — bell peppers if you prefer them.
Place the poblanos in a baking dish flesh side up, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with kosher salt. Put them into the oven for seven minutes until the edges are charred and the insides are starting to brown. They’ll flatten a bit from the heat, but that’s okay.
While the poblanos are in the oven, drain and rinse a 15-ounce can of pinto beans and set them aside.
Finely dice 2 large shallots or ½ small onion. Heat a stainless steel skillet over medium low and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the shallots and season with kosher salt. Let them sizzle until they become soft and lightly browned in spots, stirring occasionally, five to seven minutes.
While the shallots are cooking, the poblanos should be ready to take out of the oven. Set them aside, and keep the broiler on.
Chop 1 plum or vine tomato into ½-inch pieces. Turn up the heat under the skillet a smidge and add the tomato. Season again with kosher salt, stir, and cook for another five to seven minutes until the mixture is broken down. The ideal consistency is gloppy, which admittedly doesn’t sound all that appealing — but it’s what you’re going for. Keep half an eye on things and add another glug of olive oil if the pieces start to stick.
While the tomato is cooking, prepare the rest of your ingredients; the next few steps will go rather quickly. Grate 1 garlic clove on a microplane and set it aside. Measure ½ teaspoon of ground cumin and ½ teaspoon of ground paprika and set the seasonings aside. (They can mingle together in the same bowl.) Grate 3 ounces of pepper jack cheese and set the pile aside. (Use 4 ounces if you like cheesy food extra cheesy.)
While you can substitute any good melting cheese here, pepper jack brings a kick, which is a welcome note in the final dish. If you go with something milder, you can always add a pinch of chile flake to the filling along with the other spices.
Measure 1 cup of leftover rice and 1 cup of the drained pinto beans. This will leave you with slightly less than half of the can, which you can repurpose in any number of ways down the line; just store them in an airtight container in the fridge. If you don’t want to use the beans for another meal, you can crisp them in a skillet with some olive oil. Sprinkled with kosher salt, they make a delicious snack.
Turn your attention back to the skillet. Add the beans, stir, and sprinkle with a little more kosher salt. Cook them for a few minutes before adding the garlic and other seasonings, plus some freshly cracked black pepper. Stir again and let everything sizzle for a couple of minutes. Finally, add the rice and stir again, breaking up any clumps and letting the grains heat through. Taste and adjust for salt if needed. Turn off the stove.
Use a large spoon to pile the filling into each poblano cavity. Be intentional, as it can make a mess if you’re not careful. Sprinkle the pepper jack evenly over the top of each pepper and place the baking dish back into the oven under the broiler until the cheese bubbles, about four minutes.
Take the baking dish out and let it cool for a few minutes before you decamp the poblanos onto a plate. (A little patience will keep the insides from splaying.) Serve with a swoosh of sour cream or plain yogurt, some chopped cilantro, maybe hot sauce and a lime wedge — and remember: The next time you’re about to toss the last of the rice from a meal you made this week, don’t.
Emma Wartzman is the kitchen and dining writer at New York Magazine’s the Strategist.
Additional photo illustration credits: plate photo by Emma Wartzman
