Hello again and welcome back to Nonnina's Kitchen!
All my fellow Italians out there know that this is the season for roasted peppers! For all of you who are unfamiliar with this tradition, it consists of 3 major aspects:
- A couple bushels of peppers
- A small charcoal barbecue
- A garage
Alongside the freshly roasted peppers comes the delicious recipe that Nonnina and I are going to share with you today, stuffed peppers.
In September, as school is about to begin all my neighbourhood garages are filled with Nonnas and Nonnos making fresh tomato sauce, shelling beans and roasting red peppers. I was fortunate enough to be passing by Nonnina's the other day to take part in the red pepper bonanza!
Today I introduced my Nonnina to the idea of this "blog" after much confusion and consideration she finally said "Maybe Oprah will call me!" and ran upstairs to do her makeup. Forty minutes later of prepping, we began our lesson on her mom's stuffed pepper recipe passed down through generations. She tried to contain her excitement and play it off as no big deal, but she recited to me the recipe as if she was Julia Child herself.
Ingredients:
Stuffing
- 3 cups of cooked organic brown and wild rice mix
- 8-10 large Red Shepard peppers
- 2 tbsps of Olive oil
- 3 finely chopped shallots
- 1½ pounds of ground meat (any type of meat you prefer)
- ¼ cup of white wine
- 1 cup of parmesan cheese
- 1 cup of crumbled feta
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped basil
- 1tbsp fresh chopped parsley
- 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
- 2 large eggs
Tomato Sauce
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
- 2-3 tbsp dried basil and parsley
- 2 tbsp of Olive oil
Preparation:
- Begin by preheating the oven to 400℉
- Bring a pot of water to boil, and pour in your rice. Let that boil until fully cooked.
NONNINA'S TIP* for a healthier option, instead of using white rice, Nonnina uses a mix of brown and wild rice.
3. While the rice is cooking, in a large sauce pan heat up the olive oil. In the same sauce pan, add the chopped shallots and season with sea salt and herbs to taste. Sauté the onions until they are translucent.
4. Once translucent, add the ground meat to the pan. Let the meat cook until all the juice evaporates, then add the white wine. Let that sauté another 10 minutes in order for the wine to absorb.
5. Once the rice is finished cooking, make sure to drain the rice COMPLETELY before you add it to the meat. Measure out 3 cups of cooked rice and mix it in with the meat. Put the mixture to the side to let cool.
NONNINA'S TIP* for a carb free option, you can
substitute the rice for mushrooms.
6. In the mean time, clean your peppers. Cut the tops off making sure to keep the stems still in tact and save them, then hollow out the pepper.
NONNINA'S TIP* if possible, use the freshest ingredients, Nonnina uses basil and parsley from her own garden.
7. In a separate bowl, mix together the parmesan cheese, feta cheese (you can also use mozzerella), basil, parsley, garlic, and eggs.
8. Fold the cheese mixture into the now cooled rice and meat mixture, making sure everything is evenly combined.
9. Fill the peppers with the mix, making sure the stuffing goes all the way to the bottom of the pepper.
10. Coat the stuffed pepper with olive oil and put them into a lightly oiled glass pan. Place the tops back on the peppers; if they do not stay, you may choose to fasten them with a toothpick.
11. Place the stuffed peppers in the oven for thirty minutes. A good way to tell when they are done is when the skin of the peppers start to blister.
NONNINA'S TIP* for a tastier option, you can add
tomato sauce as a final step.
If choosing to add tomato sauce, heat up the sauce for about 10 minutes, adding 2-3 tablespoons of parsley and basil, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. After adding the sauce to the peppers, put them back into the oven for fifteen minutes and your peppers are ready to serve!
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