Sausage stuffed bell peppers

 

A meal on their own, these peppers are packed with spicy sausage, rice, vegetables and salty pecorino romano.  Instead of using raw peppers, they are first roasted over the burner to add a smoky element to the dish.

 

List of ingredients

4 large bell peppers
3 hot italian sausages casing removed (pork, chicken or turkey)
1 cup rice cooked in broth
1 small onion diced
1 clove garlic crushed
1 large portobello mushroom cubed
1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup diced pepper (use the flesh from the removed pepper tops)
1 cup crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup pecorino romano cheese
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp herbs de provence
pinch crushed red pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Remove the tops from the peppers, reserving the flesh for the filling.  Char peppers lightly over the stove's burners.  Halve the peppers and set in a greased baking dish.  In a pan, brown the sausage meat.  When browned and crumbled, put the meat into a mixing bowl.  Add the cooked rice.  In the same pan, cook the onion and garlic for a few minutes until soft.  Add the chopped peppers, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, parsley, thyme, crushed red pepper and herbs de provence.  Soften the vegetables for another 5 minutes, then add them to the mixing bowl.  Fold in the cheese, crushed tomato and add salt and pepper to your liking.  Spoon the mixture generously into the pepper halves and sprinkle a bit of pecorino on top of each pepper.  Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes.  Allow the peppers to rest for a bit before serving.   

Mmmm....

Oh how I love the pepper.