Red Bell Peppers Stuffed with Brown Rice, Onion, and Oyster Mushrooms

Red Bell Peppers Stuffed with Brown Rice, Onion, and Oyster Mushrooms

These stuffed peppers turned out surprisingly well. There were six red bell peppers in the house that desperately needed to be consumed. What the purchaser was thinking buying six red bell peppers is beyond me, but the family had to make due. I concocted this recipe on a whim, and it turned out surprisingly well. The roasted red peppers ended up being moist and flavorful. They did not taste mushy and were very tender. They almost tasted grilled without the inevitable black char that always seems to happen when you grill peppers. The rice was also very tastey. My approach was a combination of risotto style cooking meets traditional rice cooking. This is a recipe that is perfect to serve to a vegetarian at a dinner party, or if you are looking to try something simple and new.  It is also a good recipe because you can make adjustments according to your personal preference. For example, feel free to alter the pepper levels or water-broth-wine rations. Read through the recipe before you begin.

Serves 6 as entrée, 12 as appetizer (cut in half)

Time: 1.5 hours… brown rice takes a lot longer than you (I) think

We actually ended up eating them for dessert because the rice took its sweet time. Then again, it says something that every member of my family thought they tasted unbelievably good even though they were full from dinner part one.

Ingredients:

6 Ripe Red Bell Peppers

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Red pepper chili flakes

Cayenne pepper

¼ tsp Honey

½-3/4 cup coarsely chopped oyster mushrooms (or any whatever fungi fits your fancy)

½ white onion coarsely chopped (3/4 cup)

3 cloves of garlic coarsely chopped

½ cup of white wine

32 ounces vegetable oil

1 ½ cup brown rice

Parmesean cheese (shredded)

Tools:

Medium sized Cast Iron Pot

Baking Dish

Small sautée pan

1.                    Preheat oven to 250F. Wash the bell peppers and cut of the tops. Core the peppers. Brush the baking dish with olive oil. Brush the outside of the bell peppers with olive oil. Put the bell peppers cut side down onto the baking sheet and put in the oven for one hour.

2.              Meanwhile, in a medium size cast iron pot, pour in a thin layer of olive oil. Turn up the flame to medium heat and add the three cloves of chopped garlic and the ½ onion that has been coarsely chopped. Measure out 1 cup of vegetable broth and set aside. You may continue with the rest of the steps. If the bell peppers finish before the rice is ready, simply turn off the oven and let them rest in there.

3.              In a separate pan, turn the heat on medium-low and add another thin layer of olive to a small non-stick sauté pan. Add the mushrooms. First they will look too dry, but don’t worry, within five minutes the mushrooms will release their juices and all will be ok.  Add ¼ tsp of salt, ¼ tsp of honey, one shake of red pepper chili flakes, and literally a splash of white wine (about 1-2 tablespoons).  Stir occasionally.

4.              As you monitor both pans, stir both from time to time. When the onions turn translucent, add the rice and mix around so that it has a small coat of oil on it too. Add one to two cups of vegetable broth and ½ of water to the rice- onion mixture and stir. You want there to be plenty of liquid but the rice should not be submerged. Add a few shakes of salt, and 2-3 “shakes” of cayenne pepper to the rice.

5.              When the mushrooms have released their liquid and taste like cooked mushrooms (about five minutes) pour the mushrooms into the rice.

6.              Stir the rice. When the liquid begins to be absorbed add another cup of water and the remaining wine. Continue to stir. Add more water and broth in small batches for about twenty minutes.

7.              Then add the remaining vegetable broth, the 1 cup of broth that you set aside before and some more water in the rice. The liquid should not be fully covering the rice, but there should certainly be an excess amount of liquid. Put the cover on the rice, turn the burner to low heat for ten minutes.

8.              Stir the rice. If it looks dry add any remaining broth or wine you have open lying around. If you have run out, just add water, it will be fine. Again, add enough liquid so that the rice will not burn within the next fifteen minutes. About 1 cup. Place the lid back on the pot and wait another ten minutes. Stir again at ten and place lid back on for another five minutes.

9.              Remove the lid. Taste your rice. Hopefully it’s done. If not, keep treating the rice like risotto. Add liquid, stir, rice absorbs liquid, and repeat this cycle until the rice is moist, soft and delicious.

10.           Remove the rice from heat. Remove the peppers from the oven. Turn the peppers back over (top side up) and begin filling them with the rice. Sprinkle a thin layer of parmesean cheese on each pepper. Put them back in the oven so the cheese melts and enjoy!