Stuffed peppers are a meal all in themselves. They have protein, grain and vegetable all in one perfect package. Adding in the chouriço, portuguese ground pepper (pimenta moida) and Portuguese Allspice really bring it into “Portuguese Style” territory!
These are great for a weeknight meal, to bring in to work for lunch or make some of the stuffing, freeze in an airtight bag and stuff fresh peppers whenever you get the inkling!
I like the red, orange and yellow peppers myself because they are sweeter, but if you prefer green, go ahead and use green!
Cut each pepper in half lengthwise. This will later lead to a more crispy top on your stuffing.
Seed the peppers removing as much of the white pith as you can.
Dice up a medium onion.
Fresh parsley is important here.
Chop it up.
Use one large can of plain tomato sauce. reserving about 1/3 of it for topping the peppers before they go into the oven.
The meat for this stuffing is made up of half ground beef and half chouriço.
Add in the onion.
Brown everything together in the skillet.
Once browned, add in 2/3 of the can of sauce.
Now add in a couple of cups of cooked white rice. If you prefer brown rice here, that’s fine, just be sure it is thoroughly cooked, this is not the time for aldente anything.
Add in Pimenta Moida.
Add in some salt and pepper to taste and your stuffing is ready!
Select a baking dish that will comfortably fit the number of peppers you are looking to bake without being too tight.
Grease the baking dish with some oil.
Place your peppers with the cut side up on your baking dish ready for stuffing.
Stuff each pepper 1 and a half times its size so that it has a nice rounded top of stuffing.
Cover with some plain sauce just to keep the stuffing moist.
Portuguese Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients:
2-3 bell peppers, cut in half and seeded
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground chouriço
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups cooked rice
1 can tomato sauce
2 Tbs. parsley, chopped
1 Tbs. Pimenta Moida (ground pepper)
1/2 tsp. Portuguese Allspice
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
Brown ground beef, ground chouriço and onion in a skillet over medium heat. Drain if there is an excess of fat (a little fat is ok). Add in Pimenta Moida, parsley and a little salt and pepper (don’t over do it here) and 2/3 can of tomato sauce. Stir. Add in cooked rice. Stir.
Stuff filling into peppers and place in an oiled baking dish. Top stuffed peppers with remaining 1/3 can of tomato sauce. Bake for 30 minutes until pepper has cooked through. Serve hot.
***Gluten-free
What is Portuguese allspice
Portuguese All Spice is a combination of savory spices, a mix if you will. It includes mild paprika, turmeric, orange peel and garlic powder.