Stuffed peppers bring color to the table and can be both a side or a meal
Doesn’t the word “nightshade” evoke something in your imagination? For me, there are several adjectives that come to mind: mysterious, sexy, spooky.
Or maybe I just think it’s a cool word for a group of fruits and vegetables that for generations before us were considered unsafe to eat. Glad we cleared all that up. I would hate to think of a dinner table without tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes and bell peppers.
Nightshades, in general are nutrient-rich foods. Of course, in our new world of every food having consequence, nightshades may have an effect on those with autoimmune diseases. If you fall in that category, you might want to research which nightshades you can consume.
That said, nightshades just taste good and have been a part of our Southern diet for a long time.
I don’t know why stuffed peppers seem so relevant to the South. I know they’re easy to make and extremely tasty, but is that the real reason? I believe that it’s because they look so darned good sitting on the plate and we Southerners, and this one in particular, likes to feast with his eyes as well as his mouth. I like using multiple colors – orange, red, yellow or green.
This recipe for stuffed peppers is for a side dish. I have eaten them as a meal with just a salad or in the summer with sliced tomatoes. If you want to make the peppers a more substantial entrée, then add your choice of browned and lightly seasoned ground pork, chicken or turkey to the stuffing mixture. About a pound works perfectly.
I think you will find these peppers not only tasty, but an interesting recipe to bring folks into the kitchen to help prepare.
Fred Thompson is a Raleigh cookbook author and publisher of Edible Piedmont magazine. Reach him at fxchef1@gmail.com.
Serving suggestions
▪ As a side, this can go with most anything. I really like them with grilled pork chops and fish cooked in any method. When using as a meal, have a really interesting salad.
▪ To drink: All depends on how you are using the peppers. As a side, go with what works with the protein that’s being paired with the peppers. As a meal, I like an un-oaked Chardonnay.
Stuffed Peppers
3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice
3 tablespoons golden raisins, or dried currants
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (blood orange juice is cool)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped sweet onion, about 1 large
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped oil packed sun dried tomatoes
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large bell peppers, your choice of colors
Cook the rice according to the package directions. Set aside while you finish the stuffing.
While the rice cooks, soak the raisins/currants in orange juice for at least 10 minutes. Drain and reserve.
Place a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oil, and when it shimmers, throw in the onion. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until it begins to take on color, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Toss in the rice, currants, tomatoes, coriander, parsley and basil. Give the mixture a generous pinch of salt and several grindings of black pepper. Stir the ingredients to blend, then remove from heat.
Cut the tops off from the peppers. Reserve the tops but clean out and discard any seeds and membranes from the body of the pepper. Check to see if the peppers will sit upright. If not, take a paring knife and shave little bits off the knobs of the bottom of the pepper. Fill each pepper with the rice mixture and replace the top.
Take a deep baking dish and place the peppers snuggly in the dish. I use a 2 1/2-quart round soufflé. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Let sit at room temperature while the oven preheats.
Cover the peppers with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. The peppers should be tender at this point. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes or until the tops are light brown. Remove from the dish and let sit for 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Yield: 4 servings as a side dish.
This story was originally published April 2, 2019 at 3:19 PM.