An all-vegetable and grain stuffing makes this lighter than the usual version with ground beef stuffing. This is a great way to use up left-over grains such as farro, bulgur, rice, or quinoa. If this is a favorite dish, make things easier by cooking extra grains and stocking them in the freezer for times when you want cooked grains for a recipe and don’t want any extra work. Many recipes for stuffed peppers call for a liquid in the pan while baking them so the peppers get tender and don’t scorch. Here, steaming the peppers takes the place of the liquid, resulting in a cleaner presentation, and making it easier to take these as a picnic/pot-luck/next day lunch dish. Although the recipe seems long, once you have done it, it will be a snap to hammer this dish out in no time.
INGREDIENTS:
4 bell peppers, top removed and seeds and membranes discarded (be careful not to cut the walls of the pepper) 1 onion, very finely chopped 3 cups mushrooms, very finely chopped Stems from one bunch Swiss chard, trimmed and very finely chopped 4-6 scallions, trimmed and separated from green tops, and cut into ¼ inch slices ½ cup thinly sliced scallion tops 2-3 cloves garlic, minced Leaves from one bunch Swiss chard, cut into ¼ inch bits, washed and drained ½ pound broccoli, florets cut into roughly ¼ inch bits, stems peeled and cut into ¼ inch dice 2-3 cups tomatoes, seeded, cut into ½ inch dice, any liquid reserved 2-3 cups cooked grains, such as farro (see recipe for Basic Farro), bulgur, rice, etc. (From the night before or the freezer is easy and fine, but just cooked works great, too.) 1/3rd cup pine nuts, lightly toasted 3 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped 1 tablespoon each fresh oregano and marjoram, finely chopped -OR- 3-4 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped, or 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced Olive oil as needed Salt and pepper to taste -Optional- ½ cup wine, red or white (whatever you have left over or are drinking at the moment) Vegetable stock or water as needed -Optional- ½ cup plus 2-3 tablespoons for garnish Parmesan or Romano cheese, finely gratedMETHOD:
Heat the oven to 350°F. If grains are frozen or from the refrigerator, remove to a counter and allow to come to room temperature.
Get a pot large enough to accommodate the peppers. Set it up with a steamer and bring the water to a boil.
Steam the peppers for 5-10 minutes until no longer raw and starting to get tender. Remove the peppers from the pot and put in the broccoli stems. Cook just until no longer raw and starting to soften. Remove from the steamer and put into a large non-reactive bowl. Steam the florets just until they lose their raw edge and become a darker shade of green. Combine with the stem bits.
Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat.
Generously film the now hot pan bottom, and when the oil is hot, add the onions and the chard stalks. Season with a little salt and pepper. Cook, tossing to prevent burning. Cook until just tender all the way through. Push to the sides of the pan and film the pan with oil if need be. When hot, add the mushrooms, stir to coat with oil, and add salt and a twist of pepper. Toss to mix and sauté to soften. Make a well in the center of the pan, add oil if dry, and add the scallions. Cook, stirring often. When mushrooms are softening, make a well in the center of the pan and add a touch of oil. When it heats up, add the garlic and cook a minute or so, until the garlic is softening and fragrant. Add half the herbs and stir into the rest of the ingredients in the pan. Add the wine if using, and cook until reduced by 80%. Add the chard leaves and stir, sautéing until the leaves have wilted and almost all the liquid has evaporated. At any point in the cooking of the vegetables, if they seem too dry, add a little vegetable stock or water to lubricate the pan.
Add the tomatoes to the pan and toss to combine. Cook for 5 minutes or so, toss frequently, until the tomatoes are heated through and have given some of their juices to the vegetables. Stir a few times to start the tomatoes breaking down.
Empty the pan into the bowl with the broccoli. Add the grains to the bowl and the rest of the herbs. Stir to mix well. Season with salt and pepper and add the rest of the herbs along with the scallion tops. Scatter the pine nuts and the cheese (save a little to garnish the pepper tops) over all and mix in. Drizzle with just enough oil to moisten the ingredients a little.
Rub an oven-proof dish that is just large enough to hold the peppers with oil on the inside. Rub the peppers, inside and out, with a film of oil. Using your hands, hold a pepper over the bowl of stuffing and fill the peppers most of the way. Do not pack the stuffing. Set each pepper into the prepared dish as it is filled. Once they are filled, if there is still stuffing, use a spoon to top them up. Put a little of the remaining cheese on each pepper, and then put the dish into the center of the hot oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the peppers are just cooked through and the ingredients are hot.
Serve hot or room temperature.
Chef’s Notes:
The wine is optional, but it adds a lot of flavor and keeps the mushrooms moist. If you do not use wine, use a little stock or water. You can make the dish with or without the cheese, but the cheese adds some bottom to the dish and helps it hold together.
If you want to make this more quickly, roughly chop the onions, chard stems, and mushrooms and pulse these ingredients in a food processor until finely chopped but not starting to liquefy.
If you have lentils on hand, you could add some into the mix and then you would have a complete protein.
This dish scales up so easily. Bump it up by ½ for 6, double for 8, etc. Around a cup of stuffing per pepper should do it.
If your peppers are very irregularly shaped and won’t stand on end, split them lengthwise and cook them, serving 2 per person. Also, one friend of mine swears by stand the peppers up in well-oiled muffin pans. For this method, you need skinny based peppers or the big sized muffin tins.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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