Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

There are times that I crave a good stuffed pepper, weird as that may sound and while I like the meat stuffed version, I also like the vegetarian sort. I have mentioned that I like to make a big pot of brown rice so that I will have extra to eat during the week and this is one of the recipes that uses precooked brown rice. https://kosherfromjerusalem.com/2019/08/02/excellent-basic-brown-rice/

So, I personally prefer red bell peppers to green peppers, which are much sweeter in taste. I find the green peppers a bit bitter, so I go for the red, orange and yellow, whichever the market has available. I was in a hurry and wanted to make these quickly, so I cheated on some of the traditional steps, and didn’t blanch the peppers first (boiling them in hot water for a few minutes) since I figured I was putting them in the oven and it should suffice. And, it did. Eureka, one step less.

Then, I realized that the dish I had available wouldn’t allow me to stand most of the peppers up like little pots. Hmmm, so I cheated with that too. Most people will not eat an entire pepper if it’s a side dish (which this was) so I decided I’d cut them in half lengthwise and that worked too since everyone only wanted a half at most.

If this seems a bit haphazard, it was. I deliberately chose peppers that were a bit wilted, not bad just a little sad if you get me since that works just fine for this dish. So, if the top looked too sad, I lopped it off.

Then take your precooked brown rice and add chopped sauteed onion https://kosherfromjerusalem.com/2019/12/17/basic-sauteed-onions-a-kitchen-staple/ to the mixture.

Toss in two eggs.

Then add a drained can of corn.

Add some salt and pepper and stir till well combined.

Stuff the peppers with this mixture and if some falls off the side, no big.

Last but not least, pour a full jar of good quality tomato sauce over all the peppers in the baking dish. Add another 1/3 cup of water to the empty jar and close top tightly and shake to get all the good bits left in the jar (and you need a bit more liquid) and pour the rest over the peppers.

Cover tightly with tin foil and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes to an hour till bubbling and the peppers are fully cooked. If you wish to top them with grated cheese, remove the foil and sprinkle with the cheese ten minutes before the end of the cooking time and continue baking till melted.

Serve hot as a main or as a side dish. It will hit the spot.

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

4-6 sweet red or yellow pepper or a combo, can be a little old and a bit wrinkly but no nasty spots
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1-2 tablespoons mild oil
2 eggs
1 can sweet corn, drained
3 cups cooked brown rice
salt and pepper to your taste
1 26 ounce jar good quality tomato sauce
1/3 cup water
Optional, 1 cup shredded cheese, mild or sharp, as you prefer

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Wash and pat dry your pepper, cut off the tops and seed, or cut in half lengthwise and seed. If you don’t have prepared cooked onions, take the onion and sautee in 1-2 tablespoons oil until dark yellow or light brown but no more so they do not get bitter. In a large bowl, place the cooked onion, drained corn, brown rice, eggs and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Take a 9 x 13 pan (I liked the Pyrex since it’s oven to table) and stuff your peppers with the mixture. If there’s a little extra just mound it. Then pour the jar of sauce over the pepper, add the water to the jar and shake to get all the sauce and pour that too over the peppers. Cover baking pan with tin foil.

Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour till mixture is bubbling and peppers are cooked through. If you wish to add the cheese, remove the foil and sprinkle the cheese on the peppers 10 minutes before the full cooking time is over till melted and bubbly. Serve hot.