"Think creatively when stuffing peppers" by Nosh On | Local news, sports, weather, blogs, opinion, crime, obituaries, business, directory, marketplace, education, high school, family, shopping, arts, entertainment, movies, books, cooking, auto, real estate, jobs, classifieds, photos, videos, comics, contests, and mountain pass webcams from Wenatchee, East Wenatchee, Chelan, Leavenworth, Waterville, Cashmere, Quincy, Entiat, North Central Washington newspaper

Think creatively when stuffing peppers

Blog: Nosh On

March 19, 2010

Peppers aren’t in season here, I know, but the seasonality of red peppers and other things weren’t so obvious when I was shopping at Costco last weekend.

No, I snatched a bag full of beautiful red bell peppers and a container of plums, both produced far from here, but both perfect for my desire of fresh food. Usually, I don’t eat plums that aren’t from nearby, picked wonderfully ripe and in-season; however, in March, these are just fine to me. Sure, they’re not quite as flavorful and juicy as the ones plucked from trees just a few feet away, but I’m happy.

On to the peppers. I saw the bright-red beauties and knew where to go from there: stuffed peppers. As a kid, I didn’t like stuffed peppers, but I grew up and learned to eat and enjoy peppers. In fact, the dish is one of the things my grandmother made and one of my sister’s favorite things.

Still, I think they can be improved upon. A couple of years ago, I shared my friends’ recipe for Yucatecan Kibis. I rarely make the fried bulgar and beef meatballs since I find deep frying to be a lot of work (and not exactly very healthy.) As I thought about how stuffed peppers might be improved, I decided to use my kibis recipe as a starting point. I like the idea of the chewier, nuttier flavor bulgar imparts over rice.

My husband Brian and I made hamburgers a few days ago. Since it’s just two of us, about half of the raw, seasoned meat was left after pattie-making. We decided to freeze the leftovers. At the time, I figured we would simply make burgers again. But no, its destiny lay in peppers.

In the end, I mixed together the beef, some bulgar, onions, garlic and parsley. I stuffed it into the peppers, layering it with slices of cheese (try cheddar, feta, mozzarella or whatever you like best).

The result was pretty good, although I decided later that the addition of a chopped jalapeño pepper in the filling would have made them better. Feel free to add whatever spices you like to the filling, that’s what makes this kind of dish fun.

Bulgar and Beef Stuffed Peppers

4 large red bell peppers
1 cup bulgar (whole, cracked wheat)
1 cup warm water
1 large onion
1 jalapeño pepper, stemmed and seeded
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup parsley
3/4 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
4 slices cheese (cheddar, mozzarella or whatever you prefer)

Slice tops off peppers and remove seed pod. Place in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Place bulgur and water in a bowl and let stand about 1 hour, until bulgur has softened. Meanwhile, chop onion, jalapeño, garlic and parsley in a food processor or blender until chopped finely. Place beef in a large bowl, add onion mixture to beef. Add Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Once soft, drain bulgur by pouring onto a tea towel or several layers of cheesecloth squeezing out to remove excess water. Add drained bulgur to beef mixture and mix with hands until fully incorporated. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stuff peppers with about 1/4 cup of meat mixture. Place half a piece of cheese over meat mixture. Add more meat mixture on top of cheese to fill the pepper. Top with other half of cheese piece.
Repeat with remaining peppers.
Place peppers in a buttered baking dish. Bake for about an hour, until cooked through.
Serve warm with salsa.
Yield:4 servings.

Want to comment on this story? All Wenatchee World members are invited to comment on stories, by using the form below. Please know that we at wenatcheeworld.com hope our site is useful, entertaining and civil. So we'll delete comments that are obscene, abusive or way off topic. We appreciate it when readers use the "suggest removal" button to flag inappropriate comments. For more about interacting with the site, see our Use Policy.

BLOGS