Baked Chiles Rellenos With Smoky Tomato Sauce

Chiles Rellenos
6 large poblano chiles
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1/3 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
1 large eg
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup sour cream

Sauce
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground chipotle chile powder
1 28oz can diced tomatoes

1) Roast and peel chiles. Cut 3-inch slit in each chile, and remove seeds with spoon.
2) Preheat oven to 425F. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add zucchini and corn, and cook 5 minutes more. Season with salt, if desired. Transfer to bowl, and stir in cheese.
3) Stuff each chile with 1/2 cup zucchini mixture. Secure closed with toothpicks.
4) Whisk egg with 1/2 cup water in bowl. Spread breadcrumbs on plate.
5) Dip chiles in egg wash. Coat with breadcrumbs. Place on baking sheet, and bake 15 to 25 minutes, or until golden.
6) Meanwhile, to make the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, chili powder, chipotle chile powder and cumin, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, or until onion is soft and spices are fragrant. Add tomatoes and simmer 10 minutes, breaking up tomatoes with spatula or wooden spoon. Transfer to blender and blend on low speed until sauce is smooth.
7) Serve chiles rellenos with sauce, cilantro and sour cream.

Review: Unfortunately, I had accidentally used all of the zucchini in a different recipe a few days ago, forgetting that I needed one for this recipe! Even without that, I had more filling than I needed and my poblanos were overstuffed. I tweaked the recipe a bit to save time and effort. Instead of making an egg bath, I brushed the poblanos with the egg mixture and sprinkled panko breadcrumbs on top of each poblano. That seemed to work really well. Also, I didn't blend the sauce, as Mike complained about having too many dishes to do and didn't want to add to the mess. He also claimed to prefer his sauce chunky. It worked fine, and was incredibly tasty. Notably, I also had too much sauce, so I froze half of it for future use! Overall, this was a fairly labor intensive dish, even with the tweaks, so I doubt I'll make it again.

Adapted from:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/baked-chiles-rellenos-with-smoky-tomato-sauce/