Sometimes I actually re-make things I’ve posted about in the past, just to tweak or because I liked them so much. This was a combination of both: fixing an old recipe that didn’t make sense – and didn’t have pictures of the finished product.
The mixture… looks yummy, doesn’t it?
Couple of days old rice
Thickly sliced prosciutto, cut into small cubes
Bell peppers, cut in half and cleaned
Basil leaves, torn
Mozzarella, cut into small cubes
Red sauce/”gravy”
Frozen peas
Salt/pepper to taste
Because there was a $10/lb. difference in price, and I figured this was being cooked so it wouldn’t matter to much, I got domestic prosciutto, one thick slice. Don’t do this. Because it was thick sliced, the chewiness was very evident and unpleasant. Egh. I also didn’t manage to make rice myself, so I bought some rice from the local Chinese take-out place. You can do this, but make sure you do it a few days before you want to make these; the rice was fresh and too hot and sticky to mix up too well in the above.
The obvious: mix the rice with the peas, mozzarella, prosciutto, basil, then pack into the bell peppers. Taste the mixture before you put it in – everything’s cooked, so no worries – and salt/pepper to taste.
I cut just the tops off the bell peppers last time; this time, I cut them the long way.
Top with sauce, pour a little on the bottom so it doesn’t stick… and top with slices of mozzarella, which I covered lightly with sauce so it wouldn’t just burn.
Shove in oven at 425 for about 45 minutes, then crank the heat to melt the cheese the last few minutes. All of the ingredients inside are already cooked, you’re really just heating it.
Look at the glorious (don’t ask me why I’m using paper plates… haha).
The peppers remained pretty crunchy – not mushy or soggy at all – and really came out really delicious.
Check out the innards… mmm, and the leftovers were great for lunch the next day, just warmed up quickly in the toaster oven or in the microwave, depending how you roll.
Here’s a bonus photo of something else I made, but there wasn’t much to it:
Toss cooked farfalle/bowties with cut up bell peppers (I used red and yellow here; 79c a pound in my neighborhood, how ridiculous?!), capers, and pesto mayo. Bam. Done. I pushed some into one of my CSA tomatoes that I hollowed out. Super delicious! (If you want, you can also just cut up the tomato and toss in there as well!)
Happy eating~!
TT says
Hurricane Club serves one of their drinks in a hollowed out red bell pepper!
Feisty Foodie says
Too bad I don’t have a picture of that!
T.C. says
Mmm, peppers stuffed with italian fried rice….
And the shots of it with the sauce and cheese look awesome.
Feisty Foodie says
Haha, I didn’t think of that, but you’re right, basically Italian fried rice!
Aimee says
Very nice! I never could the stuffed GREEN peppers but I like this idea. Maybe even yellow.
Feisty Foodie says
I’m not a fan of green bell peppers, but the sweetness of the red or yellow really appeal to me. Orange, too. Definitely try it, and let me know how you like it 🙂
skippymom says
That is some pretty looking food Yvo – I especially like the idea on the pasta inside the pepper – never thought of that [duh] and since I can’t send hot with Wallene this year that is AWESOME.
The meat stuffed peppers look great too – I never thought to use that meat – always turkey, [ground]pork or beef here, but definitely going to try this. And the melted goodness? OH YEAH.