Oxtail 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.

PIQUILLO PEPPERS STUFFED WITH OXTAIL

Steps:

• Place the oxtails, wine, thyme and onion into a pot and cover with water. Simmer for about 2 hours, skimming often. Remove the oxtails and, when cool enough to touch, take the meat off the bones and shred. In the meantime, reduce braising liquid to a glace and strain through a fine sieve. Heat olive oil over medium heat and saute the carrots, celery and shredded meat. When the vegetables are tender, add garlic, parsley and season with salt and pepper. Add a little of the strained braising liquid to moisten. Stuff each pepper with a little of the meat mixture. Serve right away with a drizzle of the glace and garnish with parsley.

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.

OXTAIL-STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Discard the narrow end section of each oxtail. Season the rest with salt and pepper and brown over high heat in a 6-quart casserole or braising pan. Remove. Reduce heat to low. Add 2/3 of the diced onions, the sliced garlic clove and the ham. Sauté until onions are soft.
• Meanwhile, by hand or in food processor, finely chop the remaining onion and garlic with the green pepper and the parsley. Mix with the tomato. Add to the pan when the onions are soft, and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring, until all vegetables are soft. Stir in the bay leaf, chili flakes, wine and stock. Raise heat and bring to a simmer.
• Return oxtails to pan, baste, cover and reduce heat to very low. Cook about 3 hours, turning once, until meat is fork tender. Remove oxtails to cool. Strain liquid and reserve, discarding solids. Finely chop or shred meat and mix with 2/3 cup of the liquid.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Stuff peppers with meat. Pour 1 cup liquid into a shallow baking dish. (The rest can be saved for another use.) Arrange peppers in dish and bake until heated through, 15 minutes.