QUESTION: When making stuffed peppers, do you boil the peppers before stuffing? What are some stuffing mixtures? -- Bobbi Lang, Trenton
ANSWER: Some recipes call for blanching the peppers to soften them slightly; others do not. Green peppers at a local store were stuffed with a raw ground meat mixture and looked as though they were not boiled or blanched. If you bake peppers this way, they will take longer to cook and will hold their shape better. If you blanch the peppers and stuff them with raw ingredients, they could become too soft and fall apart during baking. So it's easier to stuff blanched peppers with an already-cooked mixture.
To prepare any color of bell peppers for stuffing, cut about 1/4-inch off the stem end and remove the core, seeds and, if desired, the ribs. You can reserve the top and place it back on the pepper once it is stuffed. Cut a small slice off the bottom so the peppers stand upright. Or cut the peppers in half lengthwise, cutting through the stem, for a slightly different presentation. For these, also cut a small sliver off the underside so they stay still in the baking dish.
To blanch peppers, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and have ready a bowl of ice water. Place the peppers in the boiling water for 2 minutes -- set a timer so you don't overcook them. Using tongs, remove the peppers and plunge them in ice water to stop the cooking. Stuff according to your recipe. Place the stuffed peppers in a shallow baking dish, add a little bit of water, cover and bake about 35 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Uncover and top with some shredded cheese or a sauce if desired.
Here are a few stuffing ideas from the Free Press Test Kitchen. For stuffing four whole peppers, start with 1 pound of ground meat and use about 11/2 cups cooked rice and about 3/4 cup or more of a binding ingredient, such as bread cubes. You can use a condensed soup base or even barbecue sauce to hold the mixture together, as well as cheese.
- For a meat stuffing, consider lean ground beef, ground chicken or turkey breast, and sausage. One of my new favorite ingredients is Hot Turkey Italian sausage. It comes in links and you can cut away the casing and brown the sausage in a pan, breaking it up as it cooks.
- For vegetarian stuffing, try chopped or sliced sautéed mushrooms or peppers. Mini baby bellas or hearty portabella mushrooms or cremini mushrooms work well.
- For a binding ingredient, use 11/2 cups cooked white or brown rice, cooked couscous or bulgur, cooked quinoa or cooked small pasta such as orzo or ditalini. Or try fresh bread crumbs or panko-style bread crumbs, or seasoned bread cubes, such as those in a stuffing mixture.
HAVE A QUESTION? Contact Free Press Test Kitchen director SUSAN M. SELASKY noon-3 p.m. Thursdays at 313-222-6432 or food@freepress.com
