"STUFFED (BELL) PEPPERS"

Here again is a dish featuring the vit.C-enriched bell peppers.

This "Stuffed Peppers" recipe is easy, and you can always modify the sfuffing, based on the ingredients you have in your pantry or simply based on what your family enjoys.

This recipe is like meatloaf stuffed into bell peppers and baked in the oven.

Usually, the stuffing for bell peppers include cooked rice, but here I used tofu instead - only because I am pretty sure my husband and I would eat this as "ulam" with our rice anyway.

An advantage of using tofu in this dish is that you do not have to use a lot of seasonings or cheese, because the tofu absorbs the flavor (esp of the cheese) and makes the stuffing really tasty.
You can always substitute the tofu with rice, or if you want to make this meatless, double the quantity of the tofu, and add some rice - but do not forget to adjust the seasonings before baking your "Stuffed Peppers".

-CHICHAY

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"STUFFED (BELL) PEPPERS"

What You Need:

• 4 green or red bell peppers
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium-sized onion, minced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 lb of lean ground meat (beef, pork, turkey, chicken...)
• 1 1/2 cup of crumbled or chopped tofu (or cooked rice)
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp of dried oregano)
• some ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup tomato ketchup
• 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce
• some Tabasco sauce (optional)

Prep:

-Cut top off peppers about an inch from the stem end (or cut the peppers in half horizontally) and remove seeds.

-Boil water in a pot over high heat, and add several pinches of salt to the boiling water.

-Add peppers and boil the peppers until brilliant green (or red if red peppers) and their flesh slightly softened, for about 3 minutes. Drain, set aside to cool.

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

How To:

-Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

-Add onions and garlic, stir and cook until soft and translucent, for about 3 minutes.

-Add the ground meat, break the pieces, and cook while stirring until the meat is browned a bit. Drain the liquid (optional).

-Add the tomatoes, tabasco and ground pepper, stir continuously for about 3 minutes.

-Add the tofu, some salt and pepper, and oregano, mix well and cook for another 2 minutes.

-Drizzle remaining 1 tbsp. oil inside peppers, arrange cut side up in a baking dish, then stuff peppers with the filling.

-Combine Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, tomato ketchup and 2 tbsp water in a small bowl, and spoon this mixture over the pepper fillings.

-Add 1/4 cup of water to the baking dish and place this in oven and bake for 45 minutes.

-Top with some shredded (asiago or sharp cheddar) cheese, and bake for another 5 minutes.

-Serve hot, with an extra side of ketchup.