Hummingbird Recipe. Stuffed Red Pepper.

Stuffed Red Pepper.

I’ve made a good number of stuffed peppers in my day, and this recipe might just be the best. Backing into it, I had this gorgeous large red pepper that I had purchased a few days earlier from our local farm stand. Serendipitously, the NYT published a recipe for stuffed peppers that looked pretty good. The challenge for me was adapting the recipe using just one red pepper, and also using only ingredients I already had in my pantry and fridge. This is where I landed, and it was great! Note that I am sticking with red peppers when I make this again, as the pepper itself was so flavorful and delicious.

1 large red pepper

2 tbsp of olive oil for cooking

2 tbsp of your best olive oil for drizzling

1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 tsp dried fennel seeds

1/2 tsp dried oregano

one pinch of crushed red pepper

1/2 lb chopped turkey

1/2 cup dry white wine (chicken or vegetable broth can be substituted)

Half of a 14.5 oz can of chopped tomatoes in their juices

Sea Salt

1/2 cup cooked white rice (I used jasmine rice that I had leftover)

1/4+ cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tbsp fresh flat parsley, chopped

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

Cut the red pepper into 3 pieces: first slice off the top half inch, removing the stem; then cut the pepper vertically into 2 halves, each resembling a “cup.”

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil. Cook the onions and celery until they soften. Add the garlic, fennel seeds, oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes and cook for about 2 minutes.

Add the chopped turkey. Cook until no longer pink, breaking into small pieces as it is browning, about 5-6 minutes. Add the wine, increase heat and cook until the volume of liquid is reduced by half. Stir as it cooks to scrape bits of the meat and vegetables into the mixture. Add the tomatoes (with the juices) and bring to a boil. Once it is simmering, turn off the heat. Add the rice, parmesan cheese, and 1.5 tbsp of chopped parsley, reserving the rest for garnishing at the end.

Place the red pepper pieces into a baking dish, and heap the mixture into each of the halves, and on top of the “top circle.” Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and place into the preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take the baking dish out of the oven, uncover, and drizzle finishing olive oil on top of the stuffed peppers. (At this time I added additional leftover white rice beside the pepper pieces that I served along with each serving; and drizzled olive oil over the rice as well.)

Add mozzarella cheese on top of everything. If you think more is needed, go for it! Place baking dish back into the oven uncovered for 10 minutes. The mozzarella cheese should be melted and browned. Sprinkle the rest of the fresh parsley over top. Serve with rice, pasta, or crusty bread and a salad.

Serves 2.