I consider myself very fortunate that despite not having a very green thumb my home is rarely without homegrown produce in the summertime. My friend and former colleague has a gigantic garden and generously shares the fruits of her labor every couple of weeks. This week we got to share in her bumper crop of green bell peppers.
Consequently, I have been scouring my recipe books looking for pepper recipes. (After all, there’s only so many times I can add fresh bell peppers to salads without getting tired of doing so.) The peak season for green bell peppers falls between July and November so if you are prepping to pick peppers in the next few weeks the following recipe might come in handy.
No surprise, it’s a stuffed pepper recipe (from a very old New York Times Cookbook). The stuffed pepper is incredibly versatile. Think about it; there’s hardly an ingredient out there that isn’t perfect for stuffing–rice, corn, mashed potatoes, macaroni, couscous, sausage, pork, hamburger, tuna, crab, or cod-—with stuffed peppers it seems anything goes.
CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE STUFFED BELL PEPPERS
Ingredients:
4 green bell peppers
1 Italian sausage (2 to 3 ounces), casing removed
1/2 cup onion, minced
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1/4 pound chicken meat from breast or thigh, cubed
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup pine nuts
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil or Italian parsley, chopped
Directions:
Grill peppers 5 minutes per side, directly on a gas grill, under the broiler, or over a gas burner, until blackened all over. Set them in a paper bag or other closed container for 10 minutes, and then slip off the blackened skins. Core carefully and rinse out seeds.
Pan fry sausage, breaking it up. Add onion and garlic and cook until translucent.
Add mushrooms, chicken, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in pine nuts.
Cool slightly, then add parsley, egg and breadcrumbs.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Carefully fill peppers with stuffing and sprinkle tops with cheese and olive oil.
Bake 15 minutes, until cheese melts and filling is warmed through.
Serves 2.
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