Stuffed Peppers
There are so many varieties. Moroccans will always have a fond memory for me – the screaming and gnashing of teeth as we stuffed them into the peppers – bad joke with Dana, sorry.
I find peppers are really about personal taste. The basic ingredients are outlined below and then I’ll discuss some of the flavours I’ve tried:
- 6 peppers, cored
- 1 cup total of rice and barley blended, cooked in 3 cups water or broth
- 500g ground meat (beef, pork, sausage, chicken or any combination there of)
- spices & vegetables to taste
Flavours
As I said, there are so many options! Last week I added 6 finely chopped mushrooms, and a yellow squash to the meat. I stirred in ½Tbs cumin plus 1 tsp each dried garlic and onion flakes. I had meant to add 3 minced garlic cloves and onion, but forgot.
For a moroccan flavour, add an onion, 2 garlic cloves and ½ cup each: mushroom, celery, chopped and peeled apple. Combine heated broth with ½ tsp of cumin and pepper; use this to cook the couscous, then fluff with a fork. Mix with meat mixture and 4 Tbs raisins, then top with fresh chopped parsley.
A classic recipe uses Italian herbs and pasta sauce. I usually mix in some to the meat mixture to infuse the flavour, top the stuffed peppers with additional sauce, then water down any remaining sauce and add it to the bottom of the dish.
General Cooking Instructions:
- Saute the meat and vegetables, drain. Stir in spices. Add cooked rice/barley and mix well.
- Pour into peppers. Arrange in a baking dish and add about ½ cup water to the bottom. Bake for about 1 hour at 350F. Serves 6.
I have also read this dish freezes well once the peppers are stuffed, bake to warm through.
