Colorful, because he won’t eat a green pepper and I prefer them.
The main thing to remember about meat-stuffed peppers is that you’re not making meatloaf. You don’t need egg or breadcrumb binders. The meat filling should be lightly stuffed into the pepper shells, not packed in tightly. I think some people actually cook the filling first, so that would be really loose, more like a meat sauce or like the meat filling in a taco.
There are two other issues that arise in filling peppers: (1) rice or no rice, and (2) whether or not to parboil the peppers.
Isn’t rice in the filling a kind of binding ingredient? Yes, probably, but it still doesn’t give it that meatloaf texture. I can’t imagine stuffed peppers without rice, because that’s how my mother always made them. Of course she used Minute Rice®, so it didn’t need to be pre-cooked; it cooked while in the filling and poked out all over like a porcupine, just as in porcupine meatballs. I use whole grain brown rice and pre-cook it, which also means I don’t need to cook a starchy side dish with the meal. Grated zucchini would make a nice rice substitute in the filling.
As for parboiling, I think you really must do that, just for 3-5 minutes to take off that rawness, not to get it to a soft, floppy stage. I have tried it without par-boiling and those darned peppers can still come out bitter and a little crunchy.
This is another of those construction dishes that can be done quickly, if you have pre-cooked a few things earlier or the day before:
- Pre-cook the rice. I cooked 1 cup of rice with 2 cups of water. I only used 1.5 cups of the cooled cooked rice in the meat mixture.
- If making your own tomato sauce, make it in advance, simmering for about 30 minutes.
- Par-boil the peppers.
- Sweat the onions that you will add to the meat mixture, cooling them after.
All these can be done earlier and refrigerated.
Colorful Stuffed Peppers
Preheat oven to 350°
Sauce:
1 28 oz can peeled whole or crushed tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
3-4 oz water
1 tablespoon minced or grated garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
- Mix the sauce ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for about 20-30 minutes.
- Set aside to cool while preparing the peppers or refrigerate.
4 large bell peppers in all colors, halved, seeded, and parboiled for 3-5 minutes
Filling:
1 lb ground beef chuck
1 lb ground veal
1 medium onion, diced and lightly cooked in olive oil, cooled
1.5 cups cooked brown rice, cooled
2 teaspoons minced or grated garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
- Mix the filling ingredients in a large bowl—the rice and onions should be cool enough to not start cooking the meat.
- Arrange the peppers in a 13″ x 9″ baking dish over about 2 cups of sauce.
- Lightly fill the peppers without packing in the meat filling. You can pile the meat as high as the baking dish will allow. I had a little meat left over and made three meatballs that I placed between the peppers.
- Pour the remaining sauce around the peppers and a little on top of each pepper. I prefer that the sauce come only to the top of each cut pepper, not over the top.
- Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- Uncover and sprinkle with about 1 cup of grated or shredded Parmesan. Bake uncovered for 15 more minutes or until cheese browns.
- Try to spoon off as much fat as you can before serving.
I roasted zucchini and more parmesan in a dish alongside the peppers for a side. It’s a great pairing.
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