Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Recipe for Mozzarella Stuffed Peppers



Stuffed peppers are a handy supper dish, but many of the 'traditional' versions (i.e. filled with minced meat and rice) are too heavy for me. Recently I've tried couple of lighter versions, and this one was well received at a recent dinner with friends. The recipe is adapted from an old issue of British Tesco Recipe Magazine (March 2003, I believe). The dish contains very few ingredients, but had surprisingly plenty of flavour, so I'll definitely try this again.

PS Sorry for the small hiatus - I was participating at a workshop in Finland, spending most of the last week in Tampere and Helsinki. It wasn't all work, however, as my dear K. joined me for the weekend of special shopping and delicious eating in Helsinki.

Mozzarella-stuffed Peppers
(Mozzarellaga täidetud paprikad)
Serves 3 as a main course or 6 as a starter



3 bell peppers (a red, yellow and orange one, perhaps?)
1 Tbsp olive oil
150 g fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed
8-12 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
half of a red onion, thinly sliced
a generous handful of fresh basil leaves
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Halve the peppers, remove the seeds. Brush the pepper halves with oil, both inside and out, and place snugly next to each other in an oven dish.
Divide mozzarella cubes, halved or quartered cherry tomatoes, onion slices and half of the basil leaves between the pepper halves.
Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
Bake in the middle of a 180 C/350 F for 30-40 minutes, until mozzarella has melted.
Sprinkle the rest of basil leaves on top, drizzle with some more olive oil and serve with a crusty bread.

Other stuffed peppers recipes @ Nami-Nami:
Red peppers with cumin-scented halloumi cubes
Pointed red peppers stuffed with spinach & mushrooms

13 comments:

Patricia Scarpin said...

Pille, the versions with meat are too heavy for me too - I absolutely love your idea!

ChichaJo said...

Delicious way with pepper Pille! Will you be posting about your shopping and eating in Helsinki and Tampere? I remember both places with fondness :)

Dagmar said...

The peppers look and sound delicious!

I hope you had a nice time in Finland!

Mrs. M. said...

These peppers would be great as appetizers. I made something similar with roasted eggplant slices topped with cheese and tomatoes.

Anonymous said...

Tere! Meie elame siis ka Helsingis, ja tuleme meelsasti popi keeduinimesega poppi kohvimajja vajaduse ja võimaluse korral! Maris

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

This looks like something that would be delicious with many different types of cheese -- and so simple to prepare. Thanks for the recipe!

Nicole said...

This looks absolutely delicious! I love peppers and cheese.

Jo said...

That looks delicious! I've been looking for some good easy vegetarian recipes, and that one will go on the list...

Lisa said...

That's a stuffed pepper I could definitely enjoy!

Amber said...

The only stuffed pepper I created that I loved was a Moroccan version. But these look luscious. I love creamy vegetarian versions of things.

Farmgirl Susan said...

This looks so good I've had the page open for days so I can keep going back and drooling over it! : )

Jeanne said...

I love ALL stuffed peppers, but I love the summery lightness of these! Definitely bookmarked.

Pille said...

Patricia - I'm definitely on a meatless stuffed pepper mood!

ChichaJo - I should have posted about Helsinki and Tampere, but it's too late now :(

Dagmar - I had lovely time in Finland indeed, even if it was work-related..

Yulinka - they're quite filling (cheese!!!), so we enjoyed them as the main course, but certainly they'd work as appetizers, too.

Lydia -you're so right!

Nicole, JO, Lisa, Amber, Susan, Jeanne - thank yoU!