This is the best stuffed peppers recipe, easy and delicious. Its roots can be traced back to the Great Depression, when farmers first began selling the unripe peppers out of necessity. Of course, we did what Americans always do when faced with a new variety of food, we stuffed meat in it.
Ingredients
- uncooked long grain white rice: 1 cup
- water: 2 cups
- onion: 1 piece (diced)
- olive oil: 1 Tbsp
- marinara sauce: 2 cups
- beef broth: 1 cup
- balsamic vinegar: 1 Tbsp
- red pepper flakes: 0.25 tsp (crushed)
- lean ground beef: 1 pound
- hot Italian pork sausage, casing removed: 0.25 pound
- tomatoes: 1 can (10 ounce can, diced)
- fresh Italian parsley: 0.25 cup (chopped)
- garlic: 4 clove (minced)
- salt: 2 tsp
- black pepper: 1 tsp (freshly ground)
- pinch ground cayenne pepper: 1 piece
- finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese: 1 cup (for topping)
- green bell peppers, halved lengthwise and: 4 piece (seeded)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Bring rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes. Set the cooked rice aside.
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Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
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Make sauce: Cook onion and olive oil over medium heat until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Transfer 1/2 of the cooked onion to a large bowl and set aside.
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Stir marinara sauce, beef broth, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes into the skillet with cooked onion; cook and stir for 1 minute.
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Pour sauce mixture into a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
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Combine ground beef, Italian sausage, diced tomatoes, Italian parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper into the bowl with reserved onions; mix well. Stir in cooked rice and Parmigiano Reggiano. Stuff green bell peppers with beef and sausage mixture.
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Place stuffed green bell pepper halves in the baking dish over tomato sauce; sprinkle with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano, cover baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
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Remove aluminum foil and bake until the meat is no longer pink, the green peppers are tender and the cheese is browned on top, an additional 20 to 25 minutes.
