Meatless Monday: Squash-Stuffed Sheepnose Pimento Peppers

Happy Monday!

This is a wonderful time of year -- late Summer produce is my favorite. So many peppers, tomatoes, and squash: the reds, yellows, greens and oranges make for a gorgeous and tasty plate!

I had a basket full of pretty delicata and acorn squash, deep green zucchini, and bright-red sheepnose pimento peppers. The peppers are sweet and the perfect size for stuffing, so I did just that.

At first, I was going to stuff the peppers with brown rice, quinoa or barley, and chopped herbs, then smother everything in a garden tomato sauce. But, as I roasted up the squash (to serve on the side), I changed my mind and decided to use it as the stuffing. It was a pretty delicious change of plans if I can say so myself.

Squash-Stuffed Sheepnose Pimento Peppers
Ingredients:
4 sheepnose pimento peppers (or other small red pepper)
1 large delicata squash
1 large acorn squash
Walnut oil
Kosher salt/ground black pepper
1 large zucchini
3 small mini sweet peppers (assorted colors)
2 TBS chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
*1 TBS ras el hanout
*2 TBS maple zucchini relish
1 TBS unsalted butter
Olive oil
*optional/see "To Do" for substitutions

Minimal MESS/ingredients/clean-up: Category 2

To Do:

For the Peppers:

• Gently carve a circle around the stem, then twist it out and slice off any seeds/pith attached to the cap and save the cap piece (w/stem) for later. 

• Carefully clean out any seeds/pith from the inside of the pepper with a sharp knife or my favorite tool, a grapefruit spoon. Set aside.
• Note: If your pepper doesn't sit level, slice off a tiny piece from the bottom (without going through to the inside) so that it does. Also, if you get too knife happy and cut a hole in the side or bottom, just use a thin slice of zucchini (with peel facing outward) to patch the hole.

For the Squash:

• Wash, seed, and quarter the long, stripy delicata squash, then season the flesh with walnut oil, salt and pepper. Roast it in a 400 degree oven until brown and tender. 

• Do the same with the adorable acorn squash, but cut into slices instead of quartering, since this type of squash is thicker.

• The delicata squash was sweet and creamy, while the acorn squash was nutty with a consistency similar to a potato. (Which is what made me decide to forgo the rice/barley/quinoa stuffing and just use the squash!)
• Note: I saved some seeds from each and salted/toasted them up in the oven for use as a salad dressing and topping. (They are great for snacking, too.)

For the Filling:

• Finely dice the zucchini and sweet peppers.

• Mix them together and stir in parsley, garlic powder, ras al hanout, salt/pepper, and zucchini relish (if using) then set aside to let flavors meld.  
• Note: If you don't have ras el hanout, use a mixture of 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon tumeric, and 1/2 tsp ground coriander. If you don't want to get yourself some fantabulous zucchini relish, you can use 2 tsps of good quality maple syrup instead.

• In the meantime, mash the roasted squash pieces with the butter until you have a mashed-potato-like consistency. 

• Stir in the pepper/zucchini mix until well combined, then using a small spatula or spoon, gently fill the peppers to the brim with the filling.

• Note: Use any leftover filling for fritters/pan cakes.

To Bake:

• Add a bit of olive oil to the bottom of a dutch oven (or other lidded oven-safe pot), then gently place the peppers inside. Return the reserved caps, then drizzle the peppers with some of the olive oil.

• Bake covered at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until the peppers are slightly blistered and give a little when touched (they shouldn't be wilty/overly soft, but they also shouldn't be overly firm). You'll start to smell them when it's time to take off the lid.

To Eat:

• Remove caps before serving. These are great and hearty enough to serve as a main dish with a salad, or as a side dish for chicken, meat, or fish (or tofu on Meatless Monday).

Enjoy the season's veggies while you can!
xoxo

I'm Stuffed!

I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate. --Julia Child

I was hungry for stuffed shells the other night and had some ricotta and a bit of farm-made goat cheese in the fridge just waiting to be used up.  It was really easy and ready to eat in about half an hour.  I used a medium-sized dish for this, as Chris and I would never finish a lasagna pan portion, so the recipe below should be tweaked for more than 4 people. 

Gourmess Stuffed Shells
1 12-16 oz. box large pasta shells
1 15 oz tub whole milk ricotta
1 6.5 oz tub Alouette Garlic & Herbs spread
3 TBS Goat Cheese
2 Tsp each of dried oregano, parsley, basil, and thyme or Italian Seasoning mix
2 Tsp Garlic powder
1 TBS salt
1-2 twists of fresh ground pepper
1 25 oz. jar high-end sauce w/meat {I was feeling lazy so I used Rao's Italian Sausage and Mushroom Sauce, but if you have more than 30 minutes, make your own sauce (sauté peeled, diced tomatoes with garlic and onion in olive oil, season well and add a bit of vegetable broth, water or wine, and then cook down into sauce) and at the end, add in some browned ground turkey sausage, sliced/diced mushrooms, peppers, etc.}
10-12 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese

• Bring pot of salted water to a boil, add the shells and cook until no longer chewy,  Pour into strainer and drain/set aside to cool.
• In a medium bowl, take the ricotta, cheese spread, goat cheese, and mix with a wooded spoon until fluffy. Add the herbs, garlic powder, pepper, and salt/pepper and mix until incorporated. Taste to make sure flavor is balanced. 

• Take about 1/2 cup of sauce and spread it on the bottom of your baking dish (this keeps the shells from sticking to the bottom)
• Take the shells and lay them on a cookie sheet, separating them so they don't stick together.  One by one, fill with the filling (I use a baby/tiny serving spoon) and place in the dish horizontally. You should get about two rows of about 8 shells each, depending on how full you fill them and how wide your dish is. (You can push them together to fit more, but don't crowd the pan too much). There will be a bit of room in the center, so add another row of shells, going vertically, this time. Cover with a bit of cheese and put more stuffed shells around the outside border. You may have a few shells leftover --go ahead and eat them now. :) 

• Top with the sauce and the rest of the shredded cheese and sprinkle more herbs on top.  Then, place in a 375 degree oven until heated through and the cheese is all melty and a bit brown on the edges.

• Serve with a green salad with black olives and tomatoes, garlic bread and an Italian wine.
• Tip: If you like your shells really saucy, put some warmed, extra sauce in a gravy boat and place on the table so you can add as little or as much as you want! (You may need to buy two jars.)

Dig in!

Stuffed Baby Pepper Poppers

I also had about two dozen baby sweet peppers, so I thought I'd take a healthier twist on some of my favorite bar food, stuffed poppers. (I said healthier, not healthy.)  

To make them, I cut off the stem and a wee bit of the top of the pepper and then scooped out the seeds with a small spoon.  (A grapefruit spoon works really well.) I thought about cutting a bit of the bottoms too, so they would stand upright, but the peppers were so small that I didn't want to waste any part of them.  Then, I couldn't decide what kind of filling I wanted to use, but I knew I wanted it creamy and cheesy and a bit spicy, so I decided on two different ones.  I filled the first half with a mixture of shredded pepper jack cheese, a couple dashes of hot pepper sauce and about a cup of jalapeno queso dip--and the other half with a mixture of goat cheese, red pepper salsa, and sweet and spicy red pepper cheese spread (I am totally in love with Alouette spreads lately).  I put each mixture in a small bowl and then spooned into the peppers. I placed the peppers in loose rows in a lightly oiled baking dish.  Then, I baked the peppers in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, then turned the broiler on them for about 5 minutes more until the cheese was hot and gooey and the peppers were a bit soft.  I ate about half the dish waiting for Chris to get home. (Yum.)

xoxoxo