May 2, 2014 3 min read

Notice: Undefined offset: 0 in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 412

Notice: Trying to get property 'term_id' of non-object in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 412

Oh this Lenten season. After a few weeks people get tired of only having fish on Fridays, and more and more people are discovering that they have shellfish allergies. Luckily enough I caught two customers talking about our sausage stuffed bell peppers and how they could not wait for Lent to be over so they could have them.

That sparked the recipe you will see below. I am not a huge fan of mushrooms, unless they are simmered in wine or mixed with cheese. In this recipe I achieved both which made me a huge fan. This is one of those recipes that will get your family out of their rooms and off the couch to see what smells so good. Enjoy!

Steps

In a wide braising pot, or shallow pot, heat the oil over medium heat with the garlic and onions until right before they are translucent. Add the mushrooms, basil, paprika, cayenne, salt and black pepper. Continue to cook until the mushrooms start to break apart. Add the red wine and simmer until the mushrooms are al dente.

Immediately add the rice and panko and stir to incorporate for 5 minutes. Immediately remove and spread over a cookie sheet or baking pan and place in the refrigerator until completely cooled.

While your mushroom mixture is cooling, in a medium sized bowl break up the ricotta cheese and add the basil, salt, paprika and black pepper. Mix completely either by hand or with a spatula and set aside. Bring an 8qt pot of water to boil with 2 tsp table salt. Once the water is boiling completely submerge the halved and cored peppers and continue to boil for 5 minutes. Once the time is up, remove the peppers, being sure to dump all of the water from them, and place in a deep dish baking pan. Lightly salt and pepper the insides of each pepper.

Once the mushroom mixture is cooled add it to the ricotta mix and completely incorporate it, being sure not to over mix.

Using a large spoon, stuff the halves of each pepper to the brim. Of course this is the step that I forgot to take pictures for. For the puree: In a blender, add the mushrooms, red wine and vegetable stock and blend on medium speed until you have a mushroom smoothie! Pour the puree around and in-between the peppers. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and baked the peppers covered for 30 minutes with a convection oven or 45 minutes with a conventional oven. The moisture from the puree with help with the baking process by keeping the peppers moist and crisp and the flavor of mushrooms will enhance throughout the peppers. Once peppers are done, serve them hot. This is one of those dinners that even the kids will be asking for by name. Savory, cheesy, delicious and oh yea, healthy!