The Secret Ingredient for the Best Stuffed Bell Peppers

This was a topic/recipe posted on www.chow.com recently. My thought is that right off the bat, the secret ingredient is to start with a better tasting pepper.
 
http://www.scrumptiousche...t-Stuffed-Bell-Peppers
 
I think of stuffed peppers as being soul food or country cooking. What are some crucial ingredients you put into your stuffed peppers?
 
What kind of pepper do you use?

Chef, you might enjoy this thread from another board.
 
Brad

Interesting Brad. When I think of stuffed peppers I think of the way my mom made them, cut off the top, core out the seeds and veins and stuff with loose, cooked ground beef lightly seasoned. She then placed them tightly arraigned in a big pot and filled the pot with tomato sauce to just cover the top. They were then simmered for a few hours until the peppers softened. As far as seasoning, anything my mom made contained a vast amount of garlic! I still make this for me and my vegetarian partner but with the Morningstar Farms crumbles. With the sauce, seasoning and the peppers, you really can't tell it's not real meat.

Green peppers, ground beef, finely chopped onions, Beef Rice a Roni, tomato sauce, fresh garlic finely minced, Salt, Pepper all mixed together, put in slow cooker on low all day.

My mom used cubanelle peppers, stuffed with mixture of soft bread crumbs, eggs, a bit of ground meat,  finely chopped mortadella or prosciutto, a bit of garlic and onion, a wee bit of parsley, and bit of finely peeled and seeded tomato.  Drizzled with olive oil and baked it. I like the cubanelle peppers because they melt into the filling.
 
I am so hungry now!!

Thanks Brad, that is a seriously delicious looking recipe. Substitute Poblano for Bell and I could eat a half dozen of those.
 
Downthread: Love the mortadella/cubanelle idea. I've used chile Chilaca before too and it's a really good chile for stuffing.
 
We just go out of Hatch season out here in Austin and I've got 15lbs roasted and in the freezer so I'm looking good for stuffed chiles all winter long.

 I use red bell peppers for the sweetness. The filling is Ground beef, Uncle Ben's rice, celery, onions, carrots, mozzarella, parmasean, fresh ground pepper, sea salt, parsely, and a little tomato sauce.  Cover them tightly with foil. I then put them into the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour with a little water in the pan. Outstanding!!
 
  David O.

I make them pretty much the standard way - but I use Bloody Mary mix instead of tomato sauce for a little different twist on an old standard.

I use italian long hot peppers or hot cherry peppers stuffed with a mixture of ground beef, italian sausage. oregano, fresh parsley, minced onion and  garlic,torn bread milk soaked and grated parmesan, topped with mozzerella in tomato sauce.

I never make them because I'm the only one who likes them, but I still remember the ones my mother made, and I loved them. She used finely ground leftoverbeef and pork roast canned tomatoes squished up very small, onion, and leftover mashed potatoes to bind it up. Parsley, too, I think. She put longhorn cheese on the top and baked them.  This was the highest and best use for leftovers I had ever seen. Oh, and first she steamed the green bell pepper halves until they were just tender. I would have eaten those things every day.

Campbells condensed tomato soup, rice, diced tomatos-drained, and velveeta cheese.

scrumptiouschef


I think of stuffed peppers as being soul food or country cooking.

That's funny. I think of stuffed peppers being Jewish (gefilte peppers in Yinglish) and Eastern European cooking (toltott paprika).

shortchef


I never make them because I'm the only one who likes them, but I still remember the ones my mother made, and I loved them. She used finely ground leftoverbeef and pork roast canned tomatoes squished up very small, onion, and leftover mashed potatoes to bind it up. Parsley, too, I think. She put longhorn cheese on the top and baked them.  This was the highest and best use for leftovers I had ever seen. Oh, and first she steamed the green bell pepper halves until they were just tender. I would have eaten those things every day.

--oh yes..how did i forget..mashed potatoes..that is my favourite filling..yours is pretty good..sounds lke something i would really like.

Venison

Ha, I always thought stuffed bell peppers was a Creole dish, I guess they can still be, when made with shrimp or crabmeat.
My neighbor makes some good ones, he uses small chunks of ham with his ground meat, Rotel, and a 5-cheese topping.   I grew up eating them either with beef, or shrimp, and stuffed with rice, stewed tomatoes and a cheddar topping, but prefer seasoned bread crumbs over the rice.

Not ground beef meat, sausage meat.

Fab, you might be right. It would depend on the sausage though.
 
My recipe... A combo of 2 parts ground chuck, and one pound Jimmy Dean sausage, and two packs Uncle Ben"s wild rice, and one can of Rotell Tomatoes.
Joe