Skip to main content

Cannellini Pilaf Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers are a great way to get real satisfaction, comfort and protein, even as vegetarian. 


Make it rich and flavorful in your seasonings and you will have a hit - especially if you serve it over pasta - a crown comfort food!



3 bell peppers, variety colors, halved and seeded (I used yellow, orange & red)


Filling:

about 3 cups coked rice or pilaf (see below)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained

1-1/2 cups cheddar or Gruyere (or other favorite hard) cheese, grated

1/2 cup half and half or light cream (or milk, or water)

2-3 green onions, finely diced

dash crushed red pepper flakes, to taste


24 oz jar favorite tomato sauce (or crushed whole tomatoes)


Topping ingredients:

1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp dried dill weed


Beforehand: Make your pilaf, if you don’t have left-over rice: I made my cooked pilaf with 1/4 cup brown Basmati rice, 1/4 cup parboiled Indian Red Matta (or Uncle Ben’s) rice and 1/4 cup tiny star pasta (or datalini or orzo) with a dash of canola oil to toast slightly.  

Then I added 1/4 tsp salt and 2-1/2 cups water. Make it your own. This will take about 20—to 30-ish minutes. Give it time - let it steam dry a bit.

Preheat oven to 425F.


Oil a 9x13-inch casserole dish and pool the spaghetti sauce evenly on the bottom.   Cool the rice a bit to handle, and add to a large mixing bowl to mix thoroughly with the garlic, beans, cheese, cream, onions and red pepper flakes.  Salt to taste (1/8 tsp?).


Now evenly distribute the filling ingredients about the pepper halves on a clean work surface.  Then, position them by nestling together in the casserole atop the sauce.

Bake covered 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, toss together the  topping ingredients. 


Remove casserole from the oven and uncover.  Now, reduce oven to 375F. Scatter the topping atop the peppers and cook uncovered for about another 20 minutes, or until the dish is will browned and bubbly.

If desired, serve with pasta.  Servers 4-6.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Umami Beef Short Ribs Samin Nosrat

This is the penultimate prep for beef short ribs.  Based on the superb documentary by Samin Nosrat, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, this is the most umami rib dish you will ever have.  Its the combination of red miso and soy sauce that marinates and flavors the beef - give it a long time to work right - that means overnight in the fridge; it's worth the planning ahead. 6 beef short ribs on the bone, about 3-4 lb 1 large sweet yellow onion, diced 2 stalks celery, diced 1 jalapeño pepper, minced 4 cloves garlic, halved Marinade: 1/4 cup red miso 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup pale dry sherry or Mirin rice wine 1 Tbsp sesame oil 1 Tbsp honey 2 cloves garlic, minced Salt the ribs generously with coarse salt and let rest overnight in the refrigerator in a resealable plastic bag. Whisk together the marinade.   Pour into the plastic bag and allow to marinate on the counter for about 2-3 hours, or again overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 375F. 

Scrambled Benedict

This is the ultimate Sunday brunch item. Don't be intimidated about making a Hollandaise sauce - it is so much easier and quicker than you may think. And it is oh, so luscious over eggs.  You can poach your eggs or fry them; whatever you prefer.  My favorite is poached, but others in the family like scrambled better, so I scrambled. Happy brunching. Hollandaise Sauce: 2 egg yokes, in a small bowl 1/2 cup butter, just melted in microwave 1 Tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1/4 tsp salt ~1 Tbsp lukewarm water 2 English muffins 2 remaining egg whites 3   eggs 1 Tbsp cream dash dried dill Set up a double boiler (I use a medium pot with a metal bowl on top), and bring 2 cups water to the boil. Reduce heat to low. In the yet unheated double boiler top bowl, whisk together the butter, lemon juice, mustard and salt. Warm over double boiler. Whisk the egg yokes together.   Slowly whisk the yokes into the warmed butter mixture, drizzling the yokes in slowly.   Whisk continuously.   If the

Coconut Rice Noodles with Eggplant

Noodle bowls are always a welcome dish for a wholesome dinner meal after an outing like grooming roses with your Park friends. Or whatever you've been doing in the afternoon. This will satisfy an appetite after a good day's work, with hearty eggplant, satisfying noodles and a cozy broth of coconut and tomatoes. Garnish with basil or mint. 1/2 lb dried wide rice noodles 2 Tbsp olive oil plus 2 Tbsp salted butter 1 medium onion, sliced kernels from 1 fresh corn stalk, or 1/2 cup frozen 3/4 lb eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 4 cups) 2 cloves garlic, minced 3/4-inch fresh ginger, minced 1 tsp favorite curry powder 1 can whole coconut milk (I used Trader Joe’s) 2 cups chicken (or veggie broth) - I used home-made stock 1 dozen grape tomatoes, halved Set a medium pot of water to boil for the noodles. Simmer according to package directions until just before cooked. Meanwhile, melt the butter in the olive oil in a wide skillet.   Add the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes on