This weekend, we will be harvesting the last of our peppers from our garden. We have been so blessed to have such an abundance of beautiful vegetables this year, so much so, that we are still reaping the benefits of the eggplant, leeks, butternut squash, and pumpkins. My brain goes into overdrive, as recipe after recipe comes to mind.. what magical combination can we concoct next?
We had a special request for stuffed peppers from one of our Sisters. She adores them, and has happy childhood memories from her Pennsylvania roots. I was delighted to fulfill her request. While in Italy, I came across this wonderfully spicy stuffed pepper recipe. I modified it with the ingredients I had on hand. I’ve never been a big fan of green peppers, but I love the sweet, colored varieties, as recommended here. The flavors of Italy abound: balsamic, red pepper flakes, fennel and spicy sausage. This is sure to be a family favorite.
SERVINGS8CHANGE SERVING SIZE |
COOK TIME1hr30 mins |
PREP TIME30mins |
READY IN1 hr50 mins |
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice long grain white, uncooked
- 2 cups water
- 1 leek halved and sliced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes crushed
- 1 lb beef lean, ground
- 1/4 lb italian pork sausage casing removed
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds dried
- 1-10 oz can tomato(es) diced
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 4 large peppers halved and seeded (assorted colored peppers recommended
- 2 cups parmigiano-reggiano grated and divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Bring rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the rice is tender, and the liquid has absorbed, 20-25 min. Remove from heat and set aside
- Cook the chopped leek in olive oil over medium low heat until the leek begins to soften (watch that it doesn’t burn), about 5 min. Transfer half of this mixture to a large bowl and set aside.
- Stir tomato sauce, beef broth, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes into the skillet with half the leek mixture; cook and stir for 1 minute.
- Pour tomato sauce mixture into a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
- Combine the ground beef, Italian sausage, fennel seeds, diced tomatoes, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper into bowl with reserved leek; mix well. Stir in cooked rice and 1 cup of Parmigiano Reggiano. Stuff bell peppers with beef and sausage mixture, heaping slightly.
- Place stuffed bell pepper halves in the baking dish over tomato sauce; cover baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
- Remove aluminum foil, sprinkle with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano, and bake until the meat is no longer pink, the peppers are tender and the cheese is browned on top, an additional 20 to 25 minutes. Andiamo Mangiare!
