I learned to make these Italian stuffed peppers from an Italian Nonna on YouTube. It’s a real winner. If you prep all your ingredients, it goes pretty fast. You can use ground beef or ground chicken, either way they are fantastic!
Ingredients
4 large bell peppers, assorted colours
1 tablespoon
½ cup yellow onion, finely chopped
1–2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, loosely torn
1 cup canned whole San Marzano tomatoes, roughly chopped (do not use diced tomatoes)
½ lb ground beef (or ground chicken)
1 cup partially cooked Arborio rice
½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated (or Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano)
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ tsp dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Fresh basil leaves, for garnish
Preparation
Cut tops off peppers, reserving tops. Remove seeds and membranes, and arrange peppers in a baking dish. Dice reserved tops into ½-inch pieces.
Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and diced peppers. Cook for 5 minutes. Add San Marzano tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer to large mixing bowl.
In same skillet, cook ground beef (or chicken) for about 4 minutes, until just cooked. Add to bowl along with partially cooked Arborio rice, parsley, basil, oregano, Pecorino Romano, ¾ cup mozzarella, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine.
Divide filling evenly among 4 peppers, pressing gently to fill each one. Top with remaining mozzarella, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15–20 minutes, until peppers are tender, rice is fully cooked and cheese is golden.
Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 4.
