There are certain dishes that, as a child, did nothing for me. Barley soup: meh, didn’t like the texture of the cooked barley. Liver and onions: well that one is self-explanatory.
Cabbage Rolls: could take them or leave them. Stuffed peppers: I always found the cooked pepper portion very bitter. And yet here I am, writing about how much I love Stuffed Peppers! What happened?
It turns out that many of the issues with these dishes is the way they were cooked, or their cooked textures. I now love barley soup, barley risotto, etc. The texture must have just grown on me. Liver, well, I still can’t stomach calves liver. But sautéed chicken livers in a mustard sauce, dreamy. Liver pate, etc, yumm! With the cabbage rolls, it was just a matter of switching out the type of cabbage I used. And as for stuffed peppers, it was never the filling that I had a problem with. It was the pepper. Turns out, green peppers when cooked leave a taste in my mouth that just doesn’t sit well. But growing up, red, yellow and orange peppers were not all that common. Green peppers were what my mom chose, and we really didn’t have much say in the matter.
But now I’m all grown up, and can pick the colour of pepper that I like for this dish! I choose red, or orange. Or even the pale green cubanelle peppers. They have a sweetness to them that even when cooked or roasted lingers, and enhances the entire dish.
So these are the stuffed peppers that I make. I use chicken for these, but you can easily use turkey or even ground lamb or beef. Instead of the traditional rice that I grew up with (and which I still appreciate, especially if I’m making a filling for cabbage rolls) I use quinoa or bulgur. Just ‘cuz I can! I’m trying to remember what initially inspired this filling. We love going out for Greek food. One of our staple dishes that we order is horiatiki, or a Greek Village salad: the tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions with feta cheese and herbs with olive oil is such a delight and fresh salad. So, I guess, I figured since the pepper was already accounted for, it was just a matter of getting the other ingredients together in just the right way. I replaced the cucumber with zucchini (cucumber doesn’t hold up as well once cooked up) and everything else was a breeze to bring into the recipe.
The herbs are oregano, thyme and parsley, and the spices are a touch of cayenne and garlic. Topped with feta and a sprinkling of parmesan. Once the filling is prepared, it is stuffed into peppers that have been cleaned out and drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper. Depending on the size of your peppers, you can either cut the top off (like a hat) or if they are larger, you can carefully slice through them from head to tail, creating two equal bowls. If you are going to cut them this way, carefully remove the stem without damaging the flesh around it, you will need that flesh to create a complete bowl. Nestle them in a casserole or baking dish, add a cup or so of chicken stock to the bottom, cover with foil and bake until the pepper is tender. Remove the foil, add some cheese and give it a quick broil. That’s it. And hang on to the stock at the bottom. Chances are, there will be bits of filling that find their way into the stock- it becomes almost like a ready made soup. Or is that me just being frugal!?
In fact, sometimes, there is plenty of filling left over, depending on the size of the peppers I was using. Warming up some bone broth, and adding the filling in makes for a fabulous soup, I promise!! Or of course, you can freeze the leftover filling for the next time you want to stuff some peppers, or even tomatoes.
Right now peppers are bursting out on the summer farmers market scene. So its a no brainer to make them now. Thankfully the filling isn’t too heavy, so it still works for a summer meal. But of course, stuffed peppers are really a year round treat 🙂 Let me know what you think of this one! Would love to hear back from all of you. Are there ingredients or dishes that you didn’t care for as a child that you now embrace?
Love Jen.
GREEK STUFFED PEPPERS
Ingredients
- 4-6 medium to large sized peppers
- 2 lemons
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion , diced
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 - 1 tsp cayenne (to your liking)
- 2 tsp dried oregano or 2 tbsp fresh, (but then add with the thyme and parsley)
- 1 cup of zucchini , small diced
- 1 cup roma tomato , seeded and small diced
- 1 pound of ground chicken (you can substitute ground turkey, lamb or beef)
- 1/2 cup Cooked quinoa (or cooked bulgur or cooked brown rice)
- 2 tsp fresh thyme , chopped
- 3 tbsp fresh parsley , chopped
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cracked pepper (or more to taste)
- 1 1/2 cup chicken stock or tomato juice (or a combo of both) , you may need more depending on the surface area of your baking dish
- 1/3-1/2 cup feta cheese
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan
- 1 green onion , chopped, for garnish
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme , chopped for garnish
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400F.
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Prepare the peppers. Carefully cut off the top, preserving the stem in the 'hat' as a cap for the pepper afterwards. Alternatively, if your peppers are larger, you may slice the peppers in half from top to bottom by carefully removing the stem itself, but not damaging the flesh around it, as you will need it intact to create a bowl.
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Drizzle the inside cavities with 1-2 tbsp olive oil and spread evenly around. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set the peppers aside in a baking dish or casserole pan.
FILLING
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Zest both lemons. Cut one lemon into thin slices. Juice the other lemon. Set aside.
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Over medium high heat, heat the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large skilletl. Add the onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes, till just starting to soften. Add the garlic and saute another minute. Add the cayenne and oregano and stir to coat.
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Add the ground chicken and saute till no longer pink. Break apart into small pieces.
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Add the chopped zucchini and tomato and stir to combine. Cook until starting to soften.
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Add the cooked quinoa and stir to combine.
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Add the thyme, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Adjust if you would like more cayenne or oregano at this point as well.
Add 1/2 of the lemon zest, and 2 tbsp of lemon juice. Stir.
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Fill each pepper with the stuffing. Pack it in!
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Place the baking dish (or cast iron skillet) onto a baking sheet for easy transportation.
Place each pepper in the baking dish, top with a lemon slice and pour in the stock around them. (if you cut the 'hats' off the tops of the peppers, place these alongside each pepper)
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Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the pepper itself is soft. For even softer peppers, add another 5-10 minutes. If you cut the peppers in half and filled them, the cooking time will be less. Start checking after 40 minutes.
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Remove the baking sheet and pan from the oven carefully. Uncover the peppers, remove the lemon slices with a fork and top each pepper with 2 tbsp or so of the feta cheese and then sprinkle with 1/2 tbsp of the parmesan and the remaining lemon zest.
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Return to the oven, uncovered, and set oven to broil. Broil until the cheese is starting to bubble and brown.
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Sprinkle with chopped green onion or fresh thyme.
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Serve with some of the simmering stock and a spoon!
Recipe Notes
I actually like the stock that the peppers were simmering in. Chances are that some of the stuffing has fallen into it, and you may have a really tasty bowl of soup for lunch the next day!
I use chicken stock or a combo of chicken stock and tomato juice. I have even been known to use Bloody Caesar mix if there is some in the fridge!!
If there is leftover filling (which there may be depending on how many peppers you were stuffing, the filling can be frozen for the next time you are stuffing peppers. Or you can deliberately add the filling to more stock or bone broth and create a zesty and flavourful soup!
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