Today’s recipe is brought to you by……the letter “P!”  I could have added the Pilaf (what I combined with the pesto)  But then….well…. it just would have sounded (too) silly.  Which of course, is not a “p” word.  Preposterous?   I’m starting to sound like I’ve been in the sun too long.  So….

Summer is here in full force.  Both temps and the humidity are both in the upper nineties.  Nothing like going out to work in the garden in the morning or evening and your glasses fog up because the humidity and dew point are so high.

My pepper and tomato plants are on full tilt.  I built bigger cages for the pepper plants this year but I am still having some branches break due to the weight of the pepper crop.  My pepper plants are 4-5 feet tall.  (They are trying to compete with the tomatoes plants I think.)  I was forced to trim some of the branches just to be able to get down the walkway.  Now I have a nice batch of poblano peppers to play with….. Hmmmm

I saw sauce recipes made with roasted green chilies.  Green chilies are nice, but a poblano is about my favorite.  I roasted them and combined them with pistachios, lime/lemon juice, feta cheese, ground coriander and Vietnamese cilantro.  Too hot right now for my other cilantro…it is setting seed.  The Vietnamese cilantro will also add its own bit of heat to the party…

Roasting the peppers was easy since I was already using the grill.  I tossed them all into a lidded grill basket so I could flip them over. I cheated and stemmed and seeded them before the roast to make the second half (peeling) easier. It worked great and because the poblano has such a thin skin, it doesn’t matter how good a job you do on the peel.  Now what to use the pesto on?

I was grilling charcoal steaks, so I decided a pilaf would go well with it.  Add rinsed black beans and fresh corn to keep with the Mexican style flavors.  Although not the most photogenic dish I have ever made, the flavor is stellar.  (My guys told me I needed to post this one no matter what it looked like.)

You’ll need:

4-5 medium large poblano peppers, stemmed and seeded, then roasted and peeled

1/2 cup roasted pistachio nuts

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 1/2 Tbs each lemon and lime juice

1 Tbs ground coriander

1/2 cup fresh cilantro or Vietnamese cilantro leaves

1 tsp salt or to taste

1-2 tsp roasted garlic powder

1/2 cup (or more) good olive oil

Combine the above ingredients in your food processor.  Process while adding the olive oil.  Scrape down the sides and cycle again until sauce is smooth.  Taste and adjust seasoning.

While roasting the peppers…..

Have ready

1-15 oz can of black beans, rinsed

2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) corn

Cook 2 dry cups of pilaf according to package directions. Add corn during last 2 minutes of cook time. Drain if needed.

Combine the cooked pilaf and corn with the black beans.  Add pesto and stir well.  Serve with cilantro and feta garnish if desired.

PS…the flavor is even better the next day.  Enjoy!