This is something I threw together with the last of some of the items I had in the fridge, so it's very much a prototype. Stuffed bell peppers really make a great meal, the sort of thing that goes perfectly with a small side of soup — maybe a squash soup.
Prep time: about 50 mins. (incl. filling)
Cooking time: about 35 mins.
Est. servings: 4
Today's Specimen
Ingredients
- 4 green bell peppers, tops cut off
- ½ lb. mild Italian pork sausage
- 1 cup brown Basmati or jasmine rice
- ⅓ cup portabella mushroom, diced
- ¼ cup red onion, diced
- 1 tsp. garlic, mashed
- 3 capers, mashed with garlic
- ¼ cup Asiago fresco cheese, grated
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 cup water
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and make sure a baking pan or sheet of tin foil is on the middle rack.
- In a large saucepan on medium heat cook the rice in the water and the chicken broth, adding water as needed until it's fully cooked and fluffy. It's brown rice, so this will take 40 - 45 mins.
- While you at it and out there, may as well cook the other stuff. In a large frying pan on medium heat start cooking the sausage, crumbling into fine chunks with a good heat-resistant spatula. After it's mostly browned add the mushroom, red onion, and mashed garlic and caper and cook for an additional 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Once the rice is fully cooked add the sausage and vegetable mixture to the rice and fold into the rice, adding the Asiago in two increments and stirring thoroughly to ensure it'ss blended evenly in.
- Gently stuff the bell peppers with the filling to the tops of the peppers and cover each of them with their tops to ensure the contents remain moist. Bake for 30 - 35 mins.
Next Time in the Lab
Yeah, I didn't even use any spices; I figured the sausage, cheese, and the capers would suffice. Close, but not quite cheesy enough and the filling can use a hint of tartness that Asiago suggests.
- Increase the portabella to 1 cup.
- Increase the red onion to ⅔ cup.
- Add ½ cup cilantro.
- Increase the garlic to 1 tbsp. and mash with ¼ tsp. salt.
- Increase the capers to 6 and mash with the garlic and salt.
- Add ¼ tsp. white pepper.
- Add 1 tsp. white vinegar
