Making a better stuffed pepper

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BoracayB

Senior Cook
Joined
Jan 18, 2012
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134
Location
Boracay, Philippines
First time making stuffed bell peppers and although they were OK
they just didn't have the yum taste.

Cut off the tops and cleaned the insides. Par boiled them for 4 minutes.

Cut up the meat from the tops and with onion and garlic simmered them
in a little butter.
Added ground beef until browned. Added tomato sauce, salt, pepper and basil leaves and white rice until well mixed.
Stuffed the peppers and put them in a glass baking dish with a little water and cooked at 350* for 25 minutes.
Sadly I didn't have any cheese or Worcestershire sauce.

Love some suggestions so next time I have what I need ready.
Thanks
 
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Maybe the parboiling dilutes their flavour. I just oil mine since I don't like them to be too soft. Perhaps some more seasoning in the filling would be a good idea, e.g. tabasco or paprika, mixed herbs or thyme. If the white rice is cooked, you could have used beef stock rather than water.
 
Try cutting them in half lengthways and discard pith and seeds, I cut through the stalk and leave it on because it looks nice. Fill with skinned tomato halves, ( I remove those seeds as well or use tinned plum ones) finely chopped garlic, S&P and 1 snipped anchovy fillet per half. Drizzle with olive oil and cook @ 200c in the oven until just blackening at the edges. Wonderful served luke-warm so can be made earlier and flavors allowed to mingle
 
Try cutting them in half lengthways and discard pith and seeds, I cut through the stalk and leave it on because it looks nice. Fill with skinned tomato halves, ( I remove those seeds as well or use tinned plum ones) finely chopped garlic, S&P and 1 snipped anchovy fillet per half. Drizzle with olive oil and cook @ 200c in the oven until just blackening at the edges. Wonderful served luke-warm so can be made earlier and flavors allowed to mingle
Yes I can vouch for the tastiness of this. It's an Italian recipe and is always full of flavour. Even without the anchovy it is still very good, e.g. as a side dish.
 
I like to go a little SW or Mexican with stuffed peppers, chile rellenos. Pablanos are generally mild and they can be stuffed with a variety of fillings.:yum:
 
First time making stuffed bell peppers and although they were OK
they just didn't have the yum taste.

Cut off the tops and cleaned the insides. Par boiled them for 4 minutes.

Cut up the meat from the tops and with onion and garlic simmered them
in a little butter.
Added ground beef until browned. Added tomato sauce, salt, pepper and basil leaves and white rice until well mixed.
Stuffed the peppers and put them in a glass baking dish with a little water and cooked at 350* for 25 minutes.
Sadly I didn't have any cheese or Worcestershire sauce.

Love some suggestions so next time I have what I need ready.
Thanks
Gosh, I'd forgotten how long it was since I made stuffed peppers.

I make them much as you do but instead of water in the baking dish I use some of the home-made tomato sauce that I use in the filling. It gives you a sauce to moisten the peppers when you eat them. I don't parboil the peppers before filling as I find the final cooking is enough as I like my veg to have a little bit of bite but if you prefer to parboil did you salt the water? As for the sauce - a little wine if you have any to hand? And Worcestershire sauce is good (it helps in most things and is a culinary investment and cheap too because a bottle last for ages and doesn't go off - at least our Lea & Perrins doesn't). A pinch of chili powder if you like it? Or a scraping of nutmeg? Grated carrot? Celery? I'm thinking of all the things I put in my ragu for pasta sauce.

Menumaker's tip about an anchovy fillet or two is a good idea. It disappears into the meat filling and you won't taste fish but it adds to the overall flavour.(Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies unless you buy the vegetarian friendly one).
 
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I like to blacken the skin and peel the peppers. I also like to use red bell instead of green.
I use the same mix as my meatballs. Chopped bell pepper, onion, garlic, Parmesan or Pecorrino, S&P, flat parsley and assorted dashes of Worcestershire, hot sauce, ketchup and some milk or half and half.
I throw the kitchen sink at the ingredients as i want a full flavor meat stuffing.

I also pour some marinara over the top before roasting and a sprinkle of grated cheese when I pull them out. No water in the baking dish. Just a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking.
 
Menumaker's tip about an anchovy fillet or two is a good idea. It disappears into the meat filling and you won't taste fish but it adds to the overall flavour.(Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies unless you buy the vegetarian friendly one).

Yep. Bow before the virtue of umami, as in Worcestershire, anchovy, soy sauce, MSG, fish sauce. It's easy to overdo, and you have to especially watch the salt when adding umami ingredients, but it can make all the difference. Some cheeses add the same quality. Finely grated parmesan added to meat ins stuffed peppers improves it, as do mushrooms. Both are effective but less critical umami sources.

(Fish sauce is the most surprising ingredient for most people. The Roman's knew what they were doing with their garum.)
 
Making a great stuffed bell pepper is easy.

Just hint to Kathleen it is time we had them again. They appear and are great. :yum:
 
I parboil the peppers to make them tender, then stuff them with leftover jambalaya.

We've made stuffed collard rolls with dirty rice with spicy creole sauce. That should also work for stuffed bell peppers, just like jambalaya. Good idea you got there!;)
 
I don't parboil the peppers. Usually I stuff them with mix of either cooked ground beef or sausage, rice, onion, garlic, a little tomato sauce or marinara, and usually some chili powder or cumin.

I really want to try this one! :yum: I've had it in my to-try list for a while, but forgot about it until now.

Mexican Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe - Food.com
 
Makes sense if you're using cooked leftovers. If you're starting with raw meat and rice, for example, there is no need to pre-cook the pepper.

I was having this same discussion with a woman on another board once, and she finally came back with "Well, I am a classically trained chef and I never heard of parboiling stuffed peppers." To which I responded "You must have been out sick that day."
 
Yep. Bow before the virtue of umami, as in Worcestershire, anchovy, soy sauce, MSG, fish sauce. It's easy to overdo, and you have to especially watch the salt when adding umami ingredients, but it can make all the difference. Some cheeses add the same quality. Finely grated parmesan added to meat ins stuffed peppers improves it, as do mushrooms. Both are effective but less critical umami sources.

(Fish sauce is the most surprising ingredient for most people. The Roman's knew what they were doing with their garum.)

Fish sauce is one of my most coveted ingredients.
I've been on the fish sauce bandwagon for years.
When used right, it elevates dishes so much.
The secret is to cook the fish sauce for about a minute or two directly in the pan before adding other liquids.

MSG is another one I've been using the past few years. Stuff works wonders, especially in braised dishes, gravy, bbq rubs, beans, and lentils.
 
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Fish sauce is one of my most coveted ingredients.
I've been on the fish sauce bandwagon for years.
When used right, it elevates dishes so much.
The secret is to cook the fish sauce for about a minute or two directly in the pan before adding other liquids.

MSG is another one I've been using the past few years. Stuff works wonders, especially in braised dishes, gravy, bbq rubs, beans, and lentils.

I could use some training in this regard as i have never used fish sauce or MSG.
I like the taste of anchovy, but the slightest hint of it for my wife would ruin the meal for her.
 
I made them the other night. I do not par boil them. the filling was my meatloaf recipe, top with cheese cover and bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 mins. I topped them with an over easy egg. Delicious.
 
I could use some training in this regard as i have never used fish sauce or MSG.
I like the taste of anchovy, but the slightest hint of it for my wife would ruin the meal for her.

You have never used "Accent" tenderizer/flavor enhancer? I believe the first ingredient is MSG.
 
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