Written by Robbie Ferguson, on January 03, 2008

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My wife has never really liked stuffed peppers.  She's had them a few times (not made by me), and they've just never impressed her.  So I set out to create a stuffed pepper that she would enjoy.  After only a few bites, she requested that I be sure to serve this to company, and she even requested I save her a half of one for her to heat up for lunch the next day.  Needless to say, my plan worked; I created a stuffed pepper that my wife enjoyed!

This flavourful summertime pepper is an excellent appetizer or main.  It is both healthy and hearty.

You'll notice in the pictures, I only made three peppers, even though the recipe is for four.  This just resulted in more leftover filling for me to use in tomorrow night's spaghetti sauce. 

Plan Ahead - This recipe requires overnight marinading

Ingredients

• Four large yellow peppers (pick ones that are nice and plump; they'll have more room to stuff)
• 1 lb Extra-Lean Ground Beef
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/3 Small Brick of Mozerella Cheese
• One zucchini
  
• One can Tomato Paste (13 fl oz / 369 mL)
• 2 Tbsp Fennel Seed
• 3 Sun-dried Tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• Four Sprigs Fresh Marjoram
• 2 tsp Sea Salt
• 3 tsp Peppercorns
• 1/4 Cup Finely-Chopped Sweet White Onion
• 1/2 Cup Broccoli Stems and Florettes
  
• 2 Tbsp Finely-Chopped Sweet Green and/or Red Pepper

Yields:

Eight halves (as shown in picture above).  Enough to feed four adults.

Day 1:

Over low heat, fry the ground beef, breaking it apart consistently so that it cooks as finely ground chunks of meat, with no beef chunks larger than a pea.  Add some sea salt to flavor, if you like.

Once your beef is all cooked, drain the fat well, and let the meat cool.  Simply remove it from the heat and set it aside while you prep the veggies.

Finely chop the onion, broccoli, green/red pepper and sun-dried tomato.  We want to chop it up very fine; even use a food processor if you want to save time.  These ingredients are for the health benefits and flavour only; but we don't necessarily want the textures.

Dice your zucchini.  This should be the only vegetable that really "stands out".

Tear the leaves off the marjoram and discard the stems.  With your mortar and pestle, bash the leaves into a slimy green paste.  Add a splash of olive oil, then bash up the salt, peppercorns and fennel seed in the mix.

Gently toss up the mix in a large mixing bowl.  Add the meat and sauce from your mortar and pestle.  Splash in the Worcestershire sauce and vinegar, and toss until well coated, being mindful not to bruise the zucchini.

Transfer the meat mix into an air-tight container (preferably glass--not plastic), and place in refrigerator overnight.  This will soften the fennel seeds and saturate the meat with flavour.

Day 2:

Transfer your cold meat mix into a large mixing bowl.  Add tomato paste and toss to evenly coat the mix with tomato paste.

Thoroughly wash, and carefully cut around the stems of your yellow peppers.  Gently remove the core, and using a kiwi spoon, remove the seeds and hollow out the inside of each pepper.

Fill each pepper (one at a time) with cool water and shake it up and dump to remove any lingering seeds.  We don't need to be horribly picky, but we want to remove as many of the seeds as we can without damaging the pepper's shape.

Once your peppers have been cored, you'll be ready to start stuffing them.

By hand, grab small balls of the meat mixture and pack into each pepper.  The pepper should feel tight, but not bursting.  You want to fill it enough that it feels solid, but not so much that it tears the flesh of the pepper.

Note: If you have any leftover filling, put it back in the airtight container, and save it for tomorrow night's spaghetti sauce.

Preheat your oven to 325°F.  Once each of your peppers are filled, place them on their side in a casorole dish that is big enough to cover. 

Cover the peppers and place in your preheated oven.

Bake for 15 minutes.  Turn each pepper over, being careful not to bruise the pepper or spill the filling.  Re-cover and place back in oven for another 15 minutes.

Flip each pepper again, and place uncovered in the oven.  Cook for 10 minutes.

Turn over the peppers one last time, and cook another 10 minutes, uncovered.

Now, carefully lift each pepper onto your cutting board.  Using a very sharp knife (like my "Forever Sharp" corrugated knife), very carefully cut each pepper in half.  Protect your holding hand from burns; I tend to use a chef's cloth to hold the pepper, and make sure you watch for that "burst" of scalding-hot juice that will run out when you're cutting the juicy pepper.  Just be careful, and definitely do not use a knife that requires you to apply pressure to the pepper; you'll just end up squishing it into a big mess if you do.

Place two halves on each plate.  Using a potato peeler, slice some mozerella cheese onto each pepper, and add a pinch of fresh-cracked pepper.

Serve with a side of rice or a potato dish.

Enjoy!

Published in : Recipes, Light and Tasty