Ny Times Stuffed Peppers Food

THE BEST STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• If your peppers don't sit upright on your cutting board, trim about 1/8-inch off the bottoms to even them out so they can stand without falling over. Cut the top off each pepper about 1/2-inch down. Remove and discard the stems, then finely chop the remaining flesh from the tops. Scoop out the seeds and as much of the membranes as you can. Place the peppers in a large microwave-safe bowl with 1/2 cup water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high power for 12 minutes. Carefully uncover and let them sit until ready to assemble.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spread the beef in an even layer and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps with the back of a spoon and scraping up any browned bits from the pan until the meat is lightly browned all over, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the browned meat to a large bowl with a slotted spoon.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and add the reserved chopped peppers, onions, garlic, thyme, 4 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until falling apart and much of the liquid has evaporated, about 7 minutes.
• Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly until brick red colored, about 1 minute. Stir in the wine and cook until the mixture is reduced, very thick and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Transfer to the bowl with the beef. Stir in the rice until completely combined. (The mixture will be wet.) Season with salt and pepper.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
• Place the peppers cut-side up in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Spoon the filling into the peppers, gently pressing it in with the back of a spoon. Be careful not to overstuff and split the sides of the peppers. Bake for 15 minutes. Then top with the cheese and continue baking until the filling is heated through and the cheese is browned in spots, 10 to 12 minutes.

STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add the rice and return to a boil. Stir once, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 13 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated. Set aside, covered, for 5 minutes.
• In a bowl, combine the rice, ground pork, onion, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper. Add enough cold water, 1/4to 1/2cup, to keep mixture together.
• Cut small circles around the pepper stems with a paring knife and remove stems and seeds. Scrape the white veins out of the peppers with a spoon. Stuff the peppers with the pork mixture and place them on their sides in a large pot in a single layer.
• Combine the sugar and tomato juice and pour over the peppers. Add enough water to just cover the peppers. Bring to a simmer.
• Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the flour. Cook, stirring, until the mixture begins to turn golden. Add 1 cup cold water and 1 1/2 cups broth from the peppers and stir. Add the thickened broth to the peppers and shake the pot to spread over the top. Do not stir. Simmer the peppers, uncovered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until they are tender to the fork.
• Ladle 1 cup tomato broth into a bowl and cool 5 minutes. Whisk in the sour cream. Add to the peppers, again just shaking the pan. Add salt to taste. Remove from the heat. Serve with mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

STUFFED ROASTED YELLOW PEPPERS OR RED PEPPERS IN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Roast the peppers over a flame, under a broiler or on a grill until uniformly charred. Place in a plastic bag or a tightly covered bowl and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, remove all of the charred skin, rinse briefly and pat dry.
• Carefully cut away the stem from the peppers. Cut a slit down the side of each pepper, from the stem end to the bottom. Gently open out and remove the seeds and membranes; tip out the juice. Try to keep the peppers in one piece. Set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, nonstick skillet and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the parsley and quinoa and mix together until the quinoa is coated with oil. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a baking dish large enough to accommodate all of the peppers. One at a time, lay a pepper in the dish and fill with the quinoa mixture. I do this by gently opening up the pepper, mounding the filling onto one half, and folding the other half back over the filling, overlapping the edges slightly. Lay the peppers in the dish. Cover the baking dish with foil or a lid and bake the peppers for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, reheat the tomato sauce.
• Ladle the tomato sauce onto serving plates or a serving platter. Top with the stuffed peppers and serve.

STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut around the stem ends of the green peppers and remove a "hat" from each pepper with the stem in the center. Trim these hats at the base so they are about 1/2-inch thick and set them aside. Remove and discard seeds and trim the ribs of the peppers. Stand the peppers upright side by side in a gratin dish.
• In a bowl combine the sausage, mushrooms, bread crumbs, onions, zucchini, salt and pepper and mix well. Stuff the peppers with this mixture and place the hats back on top.
• Sprinkle the olive oil on top of the peppers and pour 1 cup of water around them. Place the peppers in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes. Serve with the surrounding juice, salt and pepper.

STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Place mushrooms, onions and garlic in bowl of food processor. Process until finely chopped.
• Place oil in 9-inch pie plate or quiche dish and add chopped vegetables. Cook, uncovered, at 100 percent for 3 minutes.
• Stir in watercress, pastina and 1 tablespoon water. Fill peppers with stuffing, mounding lightly.
• Arrange peppers, evenly spaced, around edge of pie plate. Pour remaining water in bottom of dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover tightly with microwave plastic wrap. Cook at 100 percent for 10 minutes.
• Pierce plastic wrap with the tip of a knife to release steam. Unwrap carefully. Serve within 5 minutes. Also good cold.

ROASTED STUFFED RED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a shallow roasting pan with olive oil.
• Carefully halve each pepper lengthwise so that the stem remains intact on each half. Coat each half with oil and place in the pan.
• Reserve 6 basil leaves for garnish and finely chop the remaining leaves to make 3 to 4 tablespoons. In a large bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste. Mix gently but thoroughly. You can make this ahead and keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours.
• Spoon the tomato mixture into the pepper halves and roast until the peppers have browned lightly and the tomato filling is juicy and bubbling, about 1 hour. Garnish each pepper with a whole basil leaf.