The smoky, spicy flavor of roasted Poblano peppers combined with the creamy sweetness of cashews and a touch of chocolate is something you can’t find in any other dish. It’s a culinary experience like no other. In this blog post, I’ll show you how to make Vegan Poblano Chiles Rellenos With Carob Cashew Crema.
But before we get started, let’s talk about the ingredients. Cashews are a great source of protein and they’re also rich in essential minerals like copper, magnesium and phosphorus which help with bone growth.
Carob is a chocolate substitute made from carob beans that doesn’t contain any caffeine or dairy products so it makes for an excellent vegan dessert option.
Poblano peppers have been cultivated by Native Americans since pre-Columbian times and were brought to Europe in the 16th Century where their name changed from “aji pasilla” to “pasilla.” Here you’ll learn what goes into making these incredible dishes!
Step One: Soak the cashews in water for 12 hours. Drain and rinse them at least twice to ensure that they’re completely soaked.
Step Two: Blend cashews with a third of their volume of filtered, cold water until smooth – this should take about one minute on high power in most blenders. Add more liquid if necessary as you blend (depending on your blender). Transfer mixture into saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to boil stirring often so it doesn’t stick or burn onto the bottom of pot. Reduce heat just before boiling point is reached; simmer uncovered for five minutes then turn off stovetop but leave pot covered while cooling overnight. This will reduce the creaminess slightly which makes it easier to work with.
Step Three: Lay out a tortilla and place a spoonful of warm cashew cream on one end. Roll the tortilla up around the filling, pressing to create an even roll with no air bubbles or wrinkles. Place in baking dish seam side down, cover tightly with foil and set aside. Repeat for remaining tortillas until you run out of cashew cream (you should get three rolls per batch).
Step Four: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit before placing chiles rellenos into it so they can bake long enough without scorching them at lower temperatures
Step Five: Cut each poblano pepper lengthwise; remove seeds if desired then slice thinly – about half-way through – creating two pieces that will come together like a taco to enclose the filling
Step Six: Lightly coat both sides of chiles rellenos with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt, then place in oven on rack until they are browned (about 20 minutes)
Step Seven: Remove from oven and let cool for at least five minutes before serving.
What tools do you need to make this recipe and how you should choose them?
A blender or food processor is needed to process the cashews and make the cashew cream. A baking pan lined with a foil liner will be used for roasting, an oven-safe skillet, dish towel, tongs and toothpicks are also necessary. Choose high quality ingredients like organic chiles from Mexico that have been certified as non-GMO by GASP (Global Alliance for Safe Foods) so you know they’re safe to eat.
Choose a vegan carob powder for the cashew cream and don’t forget to buy organic, gluten-free corn tortillas. For those on an oil cleanse or just watching their fat intake, you can make these chiles rellenos with zucchini instead of poblano peppers – it’s just as delicious!
On top of that, you can make a vegan cheese sauce out of soaked cashews, nutritional yeast and water.
Start by roasting the poblano peppers in an oven-safe skillet for 25 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or until they are charred on all sides. Then place them into a dish towel for about 20 minutes to cool down so that it is easy to peel off their outer skin – this will expose the juicy flesh beneath! Next, using tongs remove the pepper from its stem then fill with your desired stuffing (cheese, beans) before wrapping up tight with toothpicks and popping back into the oven until tender. The last step is making the carob cashew cream topping which simply involves blending together raw cashews, almond milk (or other non-dairy milk), maple syrup, and carob powder!