Baked Tomatoes with Quinoa, Corn, and Green Chiles

65 degrees, sunny, and an early morning trip to the farmers market…a perfect fall day in my book!  One of the best parts of living in Old Town is the huge open air farmers market a block away.  With 20 bucks in my wallet and my reusable grocery bag I headed out this morning with a coffee in hand to pick up the ingredients I needed.  I was so excited to get everything on my list for this dish (excluding the quinoa and dried spices I had at home).  Since it was from Cooking Light I knew this was going to be a great dish – healthy and flavorful (farmers market veggies are the best!).  Even though this is a great veggie dish, I also think you could add in some turkey sausage into the mixture if you wanted a little meat in there.  It does take a little while to prepare everything, so it probably isn’t the best weeknight meal if you are looking for something fast.  It is well worth the prep time though! Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 poblano chiles

2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears)

1 cup chopped onion

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon salt, divided

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 large ripe tomatoes (about 4 pounds)

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1/4 cup water

4 ounces colby-Jack cheese, shredded (about 1 cup packed)

Directions

1. Preheat broiler to high.

2.   Cut tops off tomatoes; set aside. Carefully scoop out tomato pulp, leaving shells intact. Drain pulp through a sieve over a bowl, pressing with the back of a spoon to extract liquid. Reserve 1 1/4 cups liquid, and discard remaining liquid. Sprinkle tomatoes with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Invert tomatoes on a wire rack; let stand 30 minutes. Dry insides of tomatoes with a paper towel.

3. Cut the chiles in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place chile halves, skin side up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 8 minutes or until blackened. Place in a paper bag; close tightly. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel chiles. Coarsely chop chiles  place in a bowl. Add corn and onion to pan; broil 10 minutes, stirring twice. Add corn mixture to chopped chiles; stir in oregano, oil, lime juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, cumin, and black pepper.

4. Place quinoa in a fine sieve, and place sieve in a large bowl. Cover quinoa with water. Using your hands, rub the grains together for 30 seconds; rinse and drain. Repeat the procedure twice. Drain well. Combine reserved tomato liquid, quinoa, 1/4 cup water, and the remaining salt in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat; fluff with a fork. Add quinoa mixture to corn mixture; toss well.

5. Preheat oven to 350°.

6. Spoon about 3/4 cup corn mixture into each tomato. Divide cheese evenly among tomatoes. Place tomatoes and tops, if desired, on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Preheat broiler. Broil the tomatoes 1 1/2 minutes or until cheese melts. Place tomato tops on tomatoes, if desired.

Recipe Source: www.Cookinglight.com

Picture Source: Lindsay Klindt