NEW IMPROVED stuffed peppers?

[lorilei]

Looked at the Santa Fe recipe thread -- and it looks excellent. Has anyone played with this recipe and used meat?

[Gail]

Hey, Lori!

You know, you could probably do this with the Pino recipe I posted on Susann's country of the month thread with all the Chilean recipes. The Arroz Graneado alluded to below is also on that thread.

Stuffed peppers, it seems, are pretty much stuffed peppers no matter what the country. What I liked about this one was actually the sauce.


PIMENTONES RELLENOS
Stuffed Bell Peppers

This is a common way of stuffing vegetables. The peppers can be replaced by tomatoes, squash, zucchini, onions, cabbage, eggplant, beets and so on. The cheese can be replaced by beef, pork, chicken or lamb, which would make thedish more like a Middle Eastern recipe. This recipe is for a vegetarian main course.

Serves 6

12 large green or red bell peppers
3 cups Arroz Graneado
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Consomé de ave (Chicken stock) or water
4 cups Salsa de Tomates, below

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the top off each pepper and remove the seed. Mix the cold Arroz Graneado with 1/2 cup of the cheese. Stuff the peppers with the rice mixture. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the peppers. In a Dutch oven, arrange the stuffed peppers and carefully pour the Consomé or water into the bottom of the pan. Coer and bake for about 45 minutes. Serve hot with warm Salsa de Tomates on top.

SALSA DE TOMATES
Tomato Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
2 pounds very ripe plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons dried oregano, crushed
1/2 cup red wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a saucepan, heat the oil and sauté the onions until soft and translucent. Add the mushrooms and pepper and sauté until soft. Add the tomatoes and all the other ingredients except the garlic and black pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer slowly for about 1 hour or until almost reduced to the desired thickness. At the last minute, add the chopped garlic and freshly ground pepper.

(from: Three Generations of Chilean Cuisine)


Here's one other one:

ARMENIAN STUFFED TOMATOES AND PEPPERS

Meat and Rice Stuffing:

1/3 cup long-grain rice
2/3 cup water
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound coarsely ground lamb
1 medium ripe tomato, finely chopped
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped small
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pinch of ground allspice

To partially cook rice, bring rice and water to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Drain and cool. Combine with rest of ingredients and mix well.

This filling can be used to stuff an assortment of vegetables. It fills about 8 large-sized tomatoes or green or red bell peppers. It is also enough to fill 12 to 14 Japanese eggplants.

STUFFED TOMATOES

8 large, firm tomatoes
Salt to taste
1 recipe meat and rice stuffing
Iceberg lettuce leaves
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup beef stock or water
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Wash the tomatoes; cut off tops and reserve. Scoop out pulp and reserve.

Sprinkle salt in the tomato shells and loosely fill them with the stuffing. Replace tops.

Line a 4-quart heavy stove-top casserole or deep skillet with some lettuce leaves and arrange the tomatoes in one layer over them.

Chop up the reserved tomato pulp, combine with the lemon juice, salt, and broth and pour over the stuffed tomatoes. Spoon butter over each tomato.

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, covered for 45 minutes. When they are done, do not uncover for 15 minutes, then serve.

STUFFED PEPPERS

8 medium bell peppers
Salt
1 recipe Meat and Rice Stuffing
Iceberg lettuce leaves
1 14 1/2 ounce can tomatoes, drained and crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup beef stock or water
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Wash the peppers. Cut 1/2 inch off each stem end. Remove the seeds and membranes. Reserve the tops.

Sprinkle cavities with salt and loosely fill them with stuffing. Replace tops.

Line a 4-quart heavy covered stove-top casserole with lettuce leaves and arrange the green peppers over them. Combine the tomatoes, salt, and broth and pour over the peppers. Spoon butter over each pepper.

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, covered for 45 minutes. When they are done, do not uncover for 15 minutes, then serve.

(From: The Frugal Gourmet On Our Immigrant Ancestors)

And last but not least:

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS AND TOMATOES (as distinguished from STUFFED TOMATOES AND GREEN PEPPERS, above)

Gail note: I like the looks of this simply because it actually uses some spices. Good for those Middle Eastern people, say I!

8 servings

4 medium bell peppers (both this and the above recipe say "green," but who cares?
4 large, firm tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted sunflower seeds (shelled)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/3 cups water
2/3 cup uncooked regular rice
1/4 cup raisins (this is a job for those plump, juicy Sultanas!)
1/4 cup snipped parsley
1 tablespoon finely snipped fresh mint or 1 teaspoon dried mint leaves
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup water
1/4 cup tomato paste

Cut thin slice from stem end of each green pepper and tomato; put in your pocket. Feel foolish? (And I didn't even say, "Simon says," first...) Actually, just reserve those silly vegetable lids. You'll need them later. Remove seeds and membranes from green peppers; rinse peppers. Cook green peppers (all right RED peppers...) in enough boiling water to cover 5 minutes (how much boiling water would cover an hour, do you suppose? A day? A month? Silly recipe. Sorry.) Drain. Cut thin slice from bottom of each tomato if necessary to prevent tipping. (I make it a rule never to tip tomatoes. How much would you leave, after all?) Remove pulp from tomatoes, leaving a 1/4 inch wall. (pulp is such an unpleasant word. Ever notice the way you have to sort of spit it out. Ugh. Disgusting.) Chop pulp; reserve.

Cook onion and sunflower seeds in oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, 5 minutes. Stir in reserved pulp, 1 1/3 cups water, the rice, raisins, parsley, mint, salt, cinnamon and pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. (Make up your mind-- which is it??) Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Uncover (the mixture in the skillet, not the cook) and simmer 3 to 5 minutes to reduce liquid if necessary.

Stuff each tomato and green (yeah, yeah, I know...) pepper with rice mixture, filling each about 3/4 full. Place stem tops on each. (Little hats...do they get noisemakers, too?) Arrange vegetables in ungreased oblong baking dish 13 1/2 x 9 x 2 inches. (and how many of us have oblong baking dishes, you may wonder...Will the peppers explode if we dare use rectangular??) Cover tightly with alumninum foil. Cook in 350º oven until vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

(From: believe it or not-- Betty Crocker's International Cookbook) Yes, even I have Betty Crocker! You may now close your mouth.

[This message has been edited by Gail (edited 09-21-2000).]

[lorilei]

I have two beautiful red peppers sitting at home. And since my husband is a huge stuffed peppers fan, I've more or less decided to make them for dinner tonight.

Any creative recipes out there that would make things a bit more interesting?

(I'm not a particularly HUGE stuffed pepper fan, so I'm looking for something GOOD http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif )

[Carrie W]

lorilei,

The Santa Fe stuffed peppers (on another thread) are excellent...made them for my hubby last night. There are several positive reviews on that thread that you might be interested in reading.

[lorilei]

Alright, Gail. Enlighten me.

What in the world is Arroz Graneado??

I could look it up, but of course asking you is more fun!!

[JeanneW]

Gail, I do so enjoy your recipes. Thanks for making my Friday so enjoyable and for making me laugh.

[Gail]

Chilean pilaf. Somebody didn't read the Chilean thread (as evidenced by posting a recipe for the same food...) http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif


http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/mad.gif This computer is getting to me... I am tired of submitting my reply, only to be told "We have no one registered with the UserName Gail." Like I don't exist... I'm sure, I exist-- the last time I checked, I was definitely here.