Peppers: something to eat
And it is really good, too. I have eaten them in Greece. I have eaten them in Italy. I ate them all my life in the United States. I liked them however they were done by whoever had cooked them.
The Greek ones did not have meat but did have lots of oil and rice. They were cooked to collapse and served at room temperature at lunch time. The Italian ones were cheesy and had crumbs over the rice filling. Sometimes they had meat, sometimes they didn’t. The American ones came in many different versions. Some were filled with a solid meatloaf type of filling and those were very nice. Some were made with breadcrumbs and vegetables. Those were good, too. Some were made with macaroni and cheese. Those were strange. Once I had them filled with chili and that was better then you’d think. This version, however, is the kind I remember from home as a kid. We never had them often enough.
Just lately eg has been talking about making and eating stuffed peppers in her home. When I saw these I knew I had to make them, too. They look like nice, big tomatoes. They have thick, substantial walls. They are beautiful and charming. I wanted to eat them.
Stuffed Peppers like Mom makes
for 4 people
heat the oven to 175°C or 350°F
4 nice peppers in any color and shape you like
1 cup of rice, cooked according to directions
1/2 onion, chopped
.5 pound or .25 kilo ground beef or lamb
about 3/4 teaspoon salt
handful of fresh oregano leaves or a different herb if you like
1 egg
olive oil
Clean the peppers removing all the innards and depending on the size, leave them whole like mine or half them vertically if they are those tall thin ones. Salt the inside very well. Really well. I did not salt enough.
Oil the bottom of a shallow baking dish that will hold your 4 peppers or 8 pepper halves. Put the peppers in it.
In a frying pan, heat some olive oil. Add the onion and fry it until it is transparent. Add the meat and fry until it loses its color. Add the rice and then salt, tasting as you go to make it suit you. This is separate from the salt inside the peppers. Toss in the oregano leaves and stir them in. Add the egg and stir that in quite well.
Using a big cooking spoon, put the stuffing into the peppers. Distribute any extra filling around the peppers– this part will get a crunch bottom and be really tasty. Drizzle a little oil over the peppers in the pan.
Put it into the oven and cook about an hour. The peppers should start to collapse a bit, to be really good. Depending on what you stuff these with, they could be anything from antipasto to contorno or side dish. With meat, mine were a one dish meal.
I like these best not really hot, but just warm. The peppers in this photo are not dancing, but my arms are. Sorry.
eg’s recipe actually sounds even nicer, but she doesn’t photograph her food, being normal and all that.
4 comments July 31st, 2008
