Stuffed bell peppers are a delightful treat which many of you have no doubt encountered in one form or another. My recipe comes from a mood I was in one day to make my own version, and the result had me back in the kitchen making them again before the first batch was finished. They are simple, delicious, and healthy. You can serve these as a mega side dish, or even as a plato principal.
Without further ado, let Danger take you to the kitchen.
(Serves 4-6)
Ingredients:
4-6 Bell Peppers (green and red are my favorite, but any will do)
2 cups (before cooking) Basmati Rice
2 medium tomatoes, diced
Mushrooms (4-6 regular sized champignon mushrooms, or any other type you like, sliced)
1 bunch spring onion, chopped
1 clove garlic (crushed in a garlic press)
2 cups or so of fresh spinach
Olive Oil
Smoky English Bacon, unsliced (or any other type of meat you like, but can cut into cubes)
Fresh Goat Cheese
Chili Powder
Salt and Pepper
Begin by boiling some water and cooking the rice. It can be done long before you start preparing the rest. Cook it and set it aside. You can also add the cubed smoked bacon to the rice and mix it in. I find doing it this way lets the smoky flavor infuse the rice a bit, and the hot rice tenderizes the bacon.
Cut the tops off of the bell peppers, and hollow out the seeds. Leave the stems on so you have little 'lids'. Ideally, you should be working with symmetrical peppers, because they will need to stand up while cooking. Set the hollow peppers aside.
In a large mixing bowl, press the garlic and add the diced tomatoes, chopped spring onion. I also add some salt and pepper, chili pepper, and I sometimes use Mrs. Dash Table Blend, too. Give it a quick stir so that it's a uniform mixture.
Heat about 1 Tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat in a frying pan, and start sauteing the spinach and the garlic. I chop the spinach into smaller pieces so the leaves wilt up more quickly. I also add the mushrooms only after the spinach is about 3/4 of the way done, so that they don't brown too much and stay juicy.
When the mushrooms and spinach are finished, place them into the bowl with the tomato/onion mixture, and stir well. You have a very lovely mixture of cooked and fresh vegetables and spices now. I've thought this would be worth eating on its own, and usually eat a spoonful or two; but your patience will be rewarded if you go the distance to completion of the recipe.
Now, take the rice/bacon mix and add it to the veggie mix. Mix it thoroughly so that you have a risotto of sorts. When it's all complete, set aside and prep the bell peppers. Bell pepper prep involves massaging them outside AND inside with olive oil with your fingers. If you don't rub them with olive oil, the outsides of the peppers won't roast as nicely in the oven.
In the bottom of each pepper put a small layer of the fresh goat cheese. Then, put a spoonful or two of the rice mixture on top, then another layer of goat cheese, then another portion of the rice mixture, etc. Do this until you have an overflowing pepper, top it with one last bit of goat cheese and stuff the cap on as well as you can. The cheese on top will melt and hold the cap in place in the onion. I usually go for 3-4 layers of the cheese.
When all 4 peppers are prepared this way, place them in a Pyrex casserole dish and bake at 400 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes. Keep your eye on these bad boys, so that if the skin roasts too much or they begin looking too soft, you can take them out. Peppers are always different, and some take a little more or less time than others. The ingredients inside just need to get hot, so you're really only watching the peppers.
When you pull them out of the oven, you'll have fat little peppers stuffed with seasoned goodness. I like to pour my favorite hot sauce on them. They are obviously best when eaten hot, but you can keep them in the fridge and reheat, too.
Enjoy these sons of guns, because they are a real winner, and my own personal creation.
Bon apetit!
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