Thrashing around in my foodie head is the thought of Stuffed and Roasted Peppers. I know in my version of them you would find Italian sausage rather than ground beef. I'd have rice, onion, tomato, garlic, basil, some light brown sugar, and maybe even corn. But, my sense tells me that I'd need to depart from the stuffed green peppers of my youth. Ugh. Sounds like cafeteria food - or at best the stuff your Mom made you eat as a kid.
So my version is going to have a different spin to it. But I need a witness ... somebody else to inspire me to create and test a new recipe for stuffed peppers. Yellow? Red? Orange? Green? All of them at once?
If I get a witness, I'm all over it.
OK. Greek style. Pepper color doesn't matter. We like Red and yellow - presentation counts.
ReplyDeleteIngredients
1/2 pound orzo pasta (can use rice)
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
1 tbsp oregano (dried)
1 tsp basil (dried)
salt and pepper to taste
1 # fresh baby spinach chopped (pkg. frozen spinach thawed, drained OK)
2 tomatoes, diced
1 (small) can tomato paste
1/2 # crumbled feta cheese
6 large green or red bell peppers - tops removed and seeded
Cook the orzo.
In olive oil, wilt the onions and garlic, brown the lamb. Add spices, tomatoes, t. paste - cook for 8-10 minutes. Stir in chopped spinach and feta. Remove from heat.
Prepare the peppers, top and remove seeds. Coat with olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange, standing in baking pan. Spoon in filling.
Bake 350 oven 30-40 minutes.
In last few minutes of baking - you can top with more crumbled feta, browned under a fast broiler.
Drizzle with olive oil to serve.
One more - Greek too. Stuffed tomatoes.
ReplyDelete6 large tomatoes
salt to taste
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cups onions, minced
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup parsley, chopped - flat leaf if available
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup raisins or currants
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup raw converted rice
1/2 cup water
Prepare tomatoes - wash, slice of caps (and reserve); scoop our pulp, chop and reserve. Sprinkle inside of tomatoes with salt and sugar.
Mix onion, parsley, dill raisins, pine nuts, rice, chopped tomato pulp and 1/2 cup olive oil. Saute briefly (3 minutes) and season with salt and pepper.
Fill tomatoes, cover with reserved caps and place in casserole with remaining olive oil and water. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake in 350 oven for 30-40 minutes or until tops are golden and rice is cooked. Baste occasionally. (Can be done stove top in dutch oven, 30 minutes.)
Remove from heat and cool. Serve at room temperature or just slightly warm.
Enjoy.