To stuff vegetables such as bell peppers or perhaps beef tomatoes is a great way to make interesting dishes.  Traditionally, bell peppers are stuffed with rice and ground beef, however there are so many different combinations and fillings to try which would be interesting and delicious. It's really quite a fun idea to make stuffed peppers for a party with perhaps two or three different fillings – that way you can try out different ingredients and present them in neat little packages. There is just something intriguing about stuffing food in contained servings and peppers for instance provide the perfect size. Of course large tomatoes are also nice, and acorn squashes are also great for serving a filling in, if you're looking to go outside of the traditional pepper container.
Think about the stuffed pepper dish as a blank canvas. You have a vegetable to stuff: then you pick out a grain, a protein, vegetables and perhaps other flavorings and combine. Stuff and roast in the oven. Simple.
So what interesting stuffing combinations can we come up with? Well let's think of a couple of options within each category.
Grain:
rice (white, brown or wild)
quinoa
barley
wheat berries
couscus
orzo pasta
Protein:
ground beef
ground lamb
sausage
salami
ham
chicken
lentils
beans
tofu
Vegetables:
tomatoes
greens (kale/chard/collard greens/spinach)
carrots, onions, celery
root fruits
mushrooms
corn
leeks
Cheese:
cheddar / swiss / Monterey Jack
feta
goat
blue cheese
Others additions:
adobo sauce
crushed tortilla chips
nuts
herbs
olives
Then when it comes to making a filling, them simply pick one grain, one protein, some vegetables, a cheese and perhaps other flavor additions. There really are so many different options when you extend your field of view and think of the stuffed pepper as an empty canvas ready to be experimented with.
Here are a couple of ideas for combinations which would probably be worth making:
- Quinoa, ground lamb, garlic, kale, fresh tomatoes and goat cheese
- Orzo pasta, salami, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, spinach, feta cheese
- Barley, chorizo sausage, corn, black beans, sweet potatoes, cheddar cheese
- Brown rice, lentils, mushrooms, chard, tomatoes, adobo sauce, mozzarella cheese
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