RICE STUFFED PEPPERS – Recipe by Piero Benigni – This light and delicious dish is enjoyable all year round and everyone likes it. By the way, it’s a great idea when you have guests, who will appreciate and remember it for a long time. It’s both an appetizer or a main course and can be served hot or at room temperature, cold in summer. Can be easily prepared in about one hour and a half, even hours in advance.
Ingredients for 2 people
- 2peppers
- 140 gcarnaroli rice (5 oz)
- 1onion (small, 60 g or 2 oz)
- 1sausage (110 g or 3 1/2 oz)
- 200 gcourgette (7 oz)
- 200 gtomatoes (7 oz)
- 1 sprigparsley
- 5 leavesbasil (if in season)
- 4 spoonsolive oil
- salt (at pleasure)
Tools for rice stuffed peppers
- Oven
- Cooker
- Pan
- Pot
- Chopping Board
- Knife
- Colander
- Wooden Spoon
- Baking Tray
- Scale
Preparing rice stuffed peppers
First prepare rice: boil in salted water until slightly al dente, put in colander, wash and cool under tap water, let drain. Pour 2 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet, put over a low flame, add chopped onion. Brown 10 minutes, stir frequently, beware not tu burn it. Add chopped sausage, stir and brown 5 more minutes. Add chopped zucchini, stir and brown until just fork-tender.
Add chopped tomatoes, stir and cook 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt. Turn off flame and let cool down. Divide peppers lengthwise, remove seeds, internal ribs and stem. Combine rice and stuffing, add chopped parsley and basil, mix well. Salt pepper shells inside, stuff with mixture, spread up to edges, gently press and compact.
Grease baking pan with olive oil, place peppers inside, pour 4 Tbsp water on base. Put in not fan-assisted oven, 170-180 °C (340 °F), heat above and below, position under halfway up. Bake 45 minutes or until peppers are fork tender and skin is wrinkled. Can be served hot, lukewarm, at room temperature or cold. They keep 2-3 days in the fridge and can be frozen with a 3 months life.