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Stuffed Peppers

  • October 9, 2017
First of all, welcome to the new design of Ciao Chow Linda.
After nine years, I thought it was time to say goodbye to the “blogspot” following my web address, design a new distinct logo and give a cleaner, more modern look to my blog.
I hope you like it as much as I do.
Please note that I also have a new email address: linda@ciaochowlinda.com, if you want to contact me.
And if Ciao Chow Linda is listed as a link on your blog, please change the address to the new one: https://ciaochowlinda.com
I hope there won’t be too many glitches with the new domain, but if there are, please be patient with me. There’s a bit of a learning curve for me.
Here’s the very first post under my new blog domain:
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 When your garden gives you a bounty of peppers, it’s time to get stuffing.
We left most of this year’s peppers on the plant until they turned from green to red, imparting more sweetness as they ripened.
With these four peppers, you can feed eight people, provided you have another side vegetable, like corn, as I did, or a salad.
Of course, that’s assuming you have a normal appetite.
But if eating a whole pizza by yourself is normal for you, then you’ll want two halves per person.
The stuffing is mostly ground beef, but with a bit of brown rice and some tomato sauce mixed in to give it a little more flavor.
The peppers release a lot of water after they’ve been cooking a while, but I give it a head start by pouring in a small bit of water on the bottom before covering the whole thing with aluminum foil. It also means you don’t need to grease the pan.
Bake covered for a half hour, then remove the cover and bake for another half hour. If there’s too much water on the bottom, remove the peppers and drain most of the water.
Near the last ten minutes of cooking, top with more sauce and slices of fontina cheese and place back in the oven to melt.
Serve with another vegetable, like corn on the cob, green beans, or a salad, for a complete meal.
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Stuffed Peppers
Author: 
Cuisine: Italian
 
Ingredients
  • Stuffed Peppers
  • 4 large red (or green) peppers
  • ½ cup raw brown rice, cooked in 1½ cups water (I use short grain brown rice)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 large shallot
  • 1 large clove garlic
  • 2 T. olive oil
  • 1½ pounds ground beef
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • pinch black pepper
  • 2 T. minced parsley
  • ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1½ cups shredded fontina cheese, plus a little more to place on top
  • 1 cup tomato sauce, plus another cup for pouring on top
Instructions
  1. Cut the peppers in half.
  2. Remove the ribs, drizzle a little olive oil on the inside and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Make the stuffing mixing all the ingredients, including 1 cup tomato sauce.
  4. Stuff the mixture into the peppers, and place in a casserole.
  5. Put a shallow amount of water on the bottom of the casserole and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake at 400 degrees for ½ hour.
  6. Remove the foil, and most of the water that will have accumulated on the bottom since the peppers will release a good amount in the cooking.
  7. Be careful not to burn yourself.
  8. Cover the peppers with tomato sauce and place back in the oven for another ½ hour.
  9. Remove from the oven and place a slice of fontina cheese on top.
  10. Place in the oven again for another five minutes or so until the cheese has melted.
 

Little Bitty Peppers

  • January 6, 2012
 Why is it that we’re drawn to all things diminutive? Well, at least I am, whether it’s puppies, people or peppers, like these multi-color capsicum cuties I’ve been enjoying lately.
One of my favorite bloggers, Marie of Proud Italian Cook, posted a piece about them a while back and since then, I’ve cooked with them a few times. They’re really too small to eat as a main course, unless you eat lots of them, but they’re delicious and lovely as a side dish.
You might be able to stuff them raw, but I roasted them first for about 15 minutes in a 425 degree oven. Then I cut off the tops and scraped out the seeds.
Beforehand, I made a batch of brown rice (leftover risotto would be great here too), let it cool, then mixed it with salt, pepper, chopped parsley and a heaping amount of grated fontina cheese. I stuffed the peppers, using a demitasse spoon, then baked them again in the oven at 350 degrees, just until the rice was warmed through and the cheese melted – about 15 minutes or so.
Drizzle with a little reduced balsamic vinegar glaze and they’re irresistible morsels all by themselves.
Or try topping with a mixture of breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese before baking.
Another way to serve them is to mix them with ricotta and goat cheese, plus a lot of herbs. Again, after stuffing, put them back into the oven to warm up – about 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Drizzle with olive oil and grated herbs and enjoy. It’s enough to make Peter’s Pipers pass on the porridge.
Little Bitty Stuffed Peppers
 
printable recipe here
1 package small red and yellow peppers
1 cup brown rice, cooked and cooled
1 cup fontina cheese
1 egg
salt, pepper
1/4 cup minced parsley

 

On a cookie sheet or baking pan, drizzle the peppers with some olive oil, then roast them at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
Cook 1 cup of brown rice (or any kind you like) and let it cool.
Mix with 1 egg, 1 cup fontina cheese, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup minced parsley. Stuff the peppers with a demitasse spoon and bake at 350 degrees until heated through and the cheese is melted – about 15 minutes.
Drizzle with a reduced balsamic glaze if desired (Take about 1/2 cup supermarket balsamic vinegar, 2 T. honey and bring to a boil. Cook until thick, then let it cool.)
or:
Mix 1/2 cup goat’s cheese with 1 cup ricotta cheese, one egg, salt, pepper and a big handful of minced fresh thyme and minced parsley. Stuff the peppers, then bake at 350 degrees until the filling is hot.