I guess everyone has their favorite version of this classic. I looked at about a dozen different versions, and then decided to use what I thought were the best features when I made these today. I’m here to report on my results.
Obviously, peppers are a key part of this dish. I remember the first time I made these, the recipe called for slicing the peppers in half, top to bottom, and then filling each half with the meat and rice mixture. Most recipes today, however, recommend cutting off the top of the pepper, standing them on end, and filling them. Certainly, it’s easier to scrape out the ribs and seeds if you cut them in half, but then there’s less room for the filling. Since the peppers will generally stand up on their own, you get a more filling by cutting off the tops and filling the bottoms. In addition, you can dice the tops–less the stem!–and use it in the filling.
For the filling, most call for a mixture of ground beef or sausage, rice, and various other ingredients and seasonings. But some say to mix all the raw ingredients together and stuff the peppers, others suggest pre-cooking the rice and meat mixture prior to stuffing the peppers, and still others have some variance in between these two options. There are reasons for all of these options, I suppose, but my preference has always been to brown the meat in the skillet first. That way you get the Maillard reaction, which adds a lot of flavor to the filling.
So, what other ingredients go in the filling? Again, I found lots of variation here: onions, beans, tomatoes, celery, green peppers, cheese, just for starters, and even more variation on the seasonings. I’ve concluded that you can add just about anything you want to the two basic ingredients. There are even variations that use beans or orzo instead of rice. Same goes for the spices. I kind of liked the mix of flavors I got with this recipe.
Anyway, here’s the dish I wound up making today.
Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 C cooked rice Made ahead of time
- 6 bell peppers Any color, or a variety of colors
- 4 TBSP Olive oil, divided
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 C chopped onion I used red onion since it's a little milder.
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 1/4 C diced celery
- 1/4 C diced pepper from the caps
- 1/4 C diced Zucchini Optional. Eggplant works, too.
- 1 C diced tomatoes From a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, but drained–you don't want the extra moisture!
- 1 TBSP brown sugar or to taste
- 1 TSP Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 TSP Dried Basil or 2 TBSP fresh basil
- 1 TSP mustard or to taste; I used stone ground
- 1/4 TSP Dried Oregano
- 1/4 C Parmesan grated
- 1 1/2 C Cheese blend Any blend of cheeses will do here. I used 1/2 C of Monterey Jack and 1 C Mozzarella.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- If needed, blend the Monterrey Jack and Mozzarella together.
- Cut the tops off the peppers. Scoop out the seeds and remove the ribs from the inside. A melon baller turns out to be a good tool for doing this.
- Remove the stems and dice the tops of the peppers. Save 1/4 C for the filling.
- Place the peppers in a 9×12 baking dish, open end up. You may need to even up the bottoms with a knife so they stand up, but be careful that the bottom is still closed. Add 1/4 C water to dish, cover with damp paper towels and heat on high in your microwave for 2-3 minutes. This will soften the skins but the peppers won't be mushy later.Alternatively, if you want the peppers more done, cover with plastic wrap instead of paper towels. Vent the wrap by poking it with a toothpick several times, and microwave on high for up to ten minutes. In both methods, some liquid may condense in the bottoms of the peppers. Don't drain it out! It has lots of flavor, so leave it in!
- Brown the meat in a skillet over medium heat in 2 TBSP of olive oil for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove the meat to a plate covered with paper towels to drain the excess fat. Scrape the bottom of the skillet to loosen any brown bits that remain–these are the tasty remnants of the Maillard reaction. You can even deglaze the skillet with a dash of red wine if you want to be fancy.
- Add another 2TBSP of olive oil to the hot skillet, the onion, garlic, celery, diced peppers, and diced zucchini if using. Simmer on medium heat until softened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the diced (and drained!) tomatoes, brown sugar, meat, and rice to the skillet. Mix until heated through.
- Remove from heat. Add the next five ingredients to the skillet and half of the cheese blend. Mix thoroughly. Let rest for at least five minutes prior to stuffing the peppers.
- Stuff the peppers, cover the dish with aluminum foil, and bake for fifteen minutes. The 1/4 C water you added to the bottom of the pan earlier will keep the peppers from sticking and will also help finish steaming the peppers.
- Remove the foil and sprinkle the cheese mixture over the tops of the stuffed peppers. Cook uncovered an additional 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.