Soyrizo and Spinach Baked Pasilla Chiles

The finished product—don't worry, you won't miss the sauce!

I have to say, I’m getting hungry again just thinking about this recipe! I was trying to cook vegetarian dishes all last week, and I had some Soyrizo lingering in the fridge. I’m always so amazed at how delicious Soyrizo is, and once I taste it I can’t wait to have more.

Last Sunday, to celebrate my nomination for the Versatile Blogger Award (thanks again!), I made myself a Soyrizo, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. Since that day I was planning what I’d do with the rest of it. And, true to form, I decided to make something that was totally labor-intensive for a weeknight. Oops. But it was totally worth it.

It’s not usually a problem, but many times The Husband doesn’t eat all day (no, I don’t know how he does it; I’d be punching people with food and eating it off the ground if I didn’t have at least breakfast and lunch) and he starts whining for dinner. I suppose it would help if I didn’t start the evening with a martini but just got straight in the kitchen.

But where’s the fun in that, I ask you? That takes all the fun out of cooking while tipsy and trying not to chop anything important off.

Using the goat cheese with chiles in it was probably overkill, but it was in the fridge already...

In my quest to show The Husband that Mexican-style chorizo is not just for breakfast, I did a quick internet search. Eureka! Stuff chiles with chorizo! Awesome! Add some goat cheese, cilantro and onion, and that sounds like dinner to me. Picked up a few items at Whole Foods and I was on my way to the kitchen (by way of a martini, of course).

There is a few things I’d do differently—I wouldn’t use a beer batter for these, especially one that calls for “one beer” rather than “10 ounces of beer”. Am I psychic or something? And I’d probably just bake them without roasting the pasilla chiles first. And I wouldn’t bother making a sauce, as they didn’t need it at all. So much so that I’m not even going to include the sauce recipe here.

These would make an absolutely stunning vegetarian potluck offering if you quadrupled the recipe and piled them into a casserole dish. I would add some seasoned breadcrumbs to the top, or even some crunched-up tortilla chips…hmmm, now there’s an idea.

Vegans: Exchange the real cheese for fake, or make some tofu “cheese” to go in there. I almost added mushrooms, so I think that would also be a great exchange for the cheese. I do feel that the Soyrizo needs to be lightened up with something, otherwise it’s too dense.

The greatest thing about this filling is that it is also great for breakfast! And with this recipe, there will be leftovers, unless you make four chiles. Mix with eggs or add to scrambled eggs in a tortilla and you’ve got a burrito to get your motor running for the day.

Carnivores, I’m sure you could use real Mexican (not Spanish) chorizo for this dish, if you’re into what goes into chorizo. Really, read the ingredients….you might choose to reach for the Soyrizo instead!

Soyrizo and Spinach Baked Pasilla Chiles

Get that Soyrizo as crispy as you can before adding to the mix.

2 pasilla chiles
3/4 of a package of Soyrizo
1/2 brown onion, finely
2 handfuls of baby spinach, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro
4 oz. goat cheese (I used Cypress Grove “Sgt. Pepper” chevre)
3 oz. grated Manchego

Put the chiles either under the broiler or directly on a grill/gas range and blacken all over. ALL over. Put them in a plastic bag to sit for about 10 minutes. Now this is the hard part: Remove all the blackened skin without tearing the chile, then slit it down one side and take out the seeds. Yes, it is impossible, which is why I ended up baking them.

I had spinach and kale in the fridge and had a hard time deciding which to use. I went for spinach, but either would have worked well, I think.

Heat up a frying pan with a little oil. Add the Soyrizo (please take it out of the plastic casing first) and mash it down so you get some char on one side. Flip it over and do the same on the other. Put it in a bowl on top of the spinach to wilt the spinach a little bit. Add the rest of the ingredients after the Soyrizo has cooled a bit, then mix together well. I used my hands, which was very messy but gave me the excuse of licking my fingers afterward. Purely to taste the mixture to make sure it was seasoned correctly, of course.

Carefully stuff the chiles with the mixture. Now, if you’re Rick Bayless or something and managed to clean out the chiles without shredding them, unlike me, go ahead and make yourself a mean batter and fry those puppies up. But, if you’re like me, stick them in the oven until the filling is piping hot. I tried to use the batter, but it didn’t turn out well because I was in a rush.

Mmmm...breakfast burrito.

Served with some brown rice and a salad, it was a very tasty meal. AND, I made a breakfast burrito this morning with the leftovers (while The Husband ate real chorizo from Adolfo’s around the corner)—I’m wishing I could eat it all over again.

Related articles

• More Tacos – Stuffed with Chorizo, or Soyrizo (tinykitchenstories.com)
• A Warming Winter Soup: Posole (tinykitchenstories.com)

Tags: baked chiles, chile rellenos, Chorizo, cilantro, cypress grove goat cheese, goat cheese, manchego, pasilla chiles, Rick Bayless, soyrizo, Spinach, vegetarian chile rellenos, vegetarian potluck