I have the peppers… now what stuffing?

having found that boiling whole peppers for a few minutes in plain water before stuffing them really makes them yummy, I am thinking about other things I could stuff them with. I did a very basic filling of cheese (goats’ cheese was good, and so was feta) and a few bits and pieces liked chopped tomatoes and herbs, I’m wondering what else.

I came across a very nice Armenian recipe involving lamb and sumac, which I thought might appeal to my husband, and another which also had lamb and rice, raisins, pine nuts and mint, and another with beef and Worcester which again I’m sure my husband would like but doesn’t appeal to me! You see, that is the lovely thing about stuffing vegetables, especially sweet peppers, the possibilities are endless!

I came across this Yugoslavian recipe – from when there was such a country! This is for six people and it’s for a main course as opposed to mezze or starters! The quantities here are generous, but you can always make the leftovers into meat balls and fry or cook them separately! I think you would need really large peppers, cooked whole for a few minutes until they are soft but not totally collapsed. Cut the tops off them, add the stuffing, and put the tops back on again, maybe securing with a wooden cocktail stick.

• 9 oz minced pork
• 9 oz minced beef
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 3 oz cooked rice
• 1 oz tomato purée
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 pint sour cream
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tbsp flour
• paprika, finely chopped parsley, salt,pepper

1. mix the minced meats and add the onion, rice, purée, egg, salt, pepper, and a little chopped parsley
2. stuff the peppers, replace ‘lids’, securing with a cocktail stick
3. place in buttered dish and add just a little water
4. when the filling is cooked through (about 40mins in a moderate to low oven) take out of the oven and carefully spoon off some of the liquor around the peppers
5. make a roux with butter, flour and paprika, add the juices from the cooked peppers, very, very gently stir in some of the sour cream, pour back round the peppers and return to the oven.
6. Before serving, stir the remaining cream and chopped parsley into the sauce… don’t add all of it if you don’t think you need to!

This seems a recipe that you have to use your own judgement on… I think I would add a some chilli to the meat mixture, and i think cooking times would vary according to the size of the peppers!