
Peppers stuffed with lamb and feta. Photo and recipe courtesy McCormick. |
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RECIPE: MEDITERRANEAN STYLE STUFFED PEPPERS
The delicious stuffing features ground beef, brown rice, golden raisins and almonds seasoned with flavorful, aromatic spices. The recipe is also different because it slices the peppers in half, vertically, rather than cutting off the top to create a deep dish.
Prep Time is 10 minutes, cook time is 1 hour, 15 minutes.
Ingredients For 8 Servings
2 teaspoons rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon oregano Leaves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 pound lean ground beef or lamb
1 can (14 ounces) tomato sauce
1/3 cup golden raisins (you can substitute conventional raisins)
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 egg, beaten
4 medium green bell peppers, halved lengthwise, stem and seeds removed
1/2 cup crumbled reduced fat feta cheese
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Preparation
1. HEAT oven to 375°F. Mix rosemary, cinnamon, oregano and salt in small bowl. Set aside.
2. COOK ground meat in a large skillet over medium-high heat, 5 to 7 minutes or until no longer pink, stirring occasionally to break up meat. Drain fat. Add spice mixture; cook and stir 1 minute.
3. STIR in tomato sauce, raisins and almonds. Bring to boil. Remove from heat. Add rice and egg; mix well. Arrange bell pepper halves, cut-side up, in 13×9-inch baking dish. Spoon beef mixture evenly into bell pepper halves. Pour 1/4 cup water into dish. Cover with foil.
4. BAKE 45 minutes or until bell peppers are tender. Sprinkle filling with feta cheese. Bake, uncovered, 12 to 15 minutes longer or until cheese is lightly browned.
RECIPE TEMPLATE: MIX & MATCH
Beans and legumes: black beans, white beans, lentils, etc.
Grains: barley, corn, rice, quinoa and breadcrumbs
Nuts & fruits: cashews, pine nuts or other nuts; apricot, currants, dried cherries or cranberries, prunes, raisins
Proteins: cheese; chicken, beef, pork or other meat, ground or diced; egg; sausage; seafood; tofu
Vegetables: anything and everything, cut small enough to cook evenly. Ideas: grated carrots, edamame, kale, mushrooms, onions, potatoes (diced or mashed), spinach, squash
Herbs: cilantro, dill, mint, parsley, oregano
Spices: cinnamon, cumin, curry
Why don’t we include fish? While the Basque cod-stuffed pepper is very popular, and brandade (mashed cod in olive oil) works, we haven’t found other recipes that really sing. The delicate flavors of most fish (or shellfish) get buried.
If you have a great recipe, we’d like to try it.
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