New recipe for the fall

Fall has settled in and the CSA season is in wind down mode. As sad as that is, some of the best vegetables start to arrive at this time of year - winter squash (I've already made the risotto twice!), potatoes, carrots and beets. Well, this past week we had a surprise - ancho peppers. In my 3 years as a CSA member, this is the first time we've had anchos. So - dinner tonight was my take on Chile Relleno (vegetarian style).

Baked Vegetarian Chile Relleno
5 medium ancho peppers
1 medium zucchini
1 jalapeno pepper
1 shallot, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
1 can beans - your choice, I used pintos
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp ground cumin, divided
salt & pepper

--> Preheat broiler. Put the peppers on aluminum foil-lined baking sheet and broil a few inches from the heat for 8-10 minutes or until blackened and charred - turn them after 5 minutes. When you take them out of the oven, transfer to a zip-loc bag and seal. Let them stand and sweat for 15 minutes. Peel and discard skins - cut a lengthwise slit in each to discard seeds.

--> Separately, heat a saucepan over medium-high heat (spray with Pam), add zucchini, garlic and shallot - cook ~4 minutes. Stir in 1/2 tsp cumin, jalapeno peppers and tomatoes -bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove and discard jalapeno peppers.

--> In another bowl, mix together the beans, cheese, other 1/2 tsp cumin, salt and pepper. Place the peppers in a baking dish and put a heaping spoonful of the bean and cheese mixture into each pepper. Pour the tomato mixture on top of the peppers, cover and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. My peppers were pretty spicy, so you might want to consider serving with white rice. Either way, it's a delicious, healthy do-it-yourself Mexican dish! Enjoy-