Forbidden Rice-Stuffed Bell Peppers #KitchenMatrixCookingProject

This is the second to the last Kitchen Matrix Cooking Project post. Boo! It's hard to believe that Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm, Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories, and I have been cooking along with Mark Bittman's Kitchen Matrix for a year. You can read more about our project here.

And in this final month, Karen picked the recipes. This week, she selected Bell Peppers + 16 Ways. Bittman offers everything from Salsa Sofrito to Frittata. I ended up trying four different preparation for dinner one night. And there was a clear favorite. But, first, here's what the others shared...

An InLinkz Link-up

Before I share the preparation that received all thumbs up from my crew, here's what I tried...and I will share these recipes soon.

With Killed Shallots

With Anchovies

Vietnamese Style

Forbidden Rice-Stuffed Bell Peppers

I  made a few changes to Bittman's recipe. First I added in a mirepoix of sorts - shallots, carrots, and celery - and, second, I used black rice. Also, I adjusted the temperature down from 450 degrees to 425 degrees F. It might just be my oven, but I am never successful with the temperature that high.


Ingredients

• 3 to 4 organic bell peppers
• 1 pound ground meat (I used venison)
• 3 C cooked rice (I used Forbidden Rice)
• 2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/4 C chopped carrots
• 1/4 C chopped celery
• olive oil
• freshly ground salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 C chopped parsley
• 1 C stock

Procedure
Cook rice or use already cooked rice. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Hollow out the peppers, but keep the caps. In a large skillet, add a splash of olive oil and cook the shallots until they are softened. Stir in the ground meat and cook until fully browned, then, stir in the carrots and celery and cook until those are a little bit softer than fork-tender.

Fold in the rice and the parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stuff the peppers, packing down lightly. Drizzle with olive oil. Place the peppers in a baking dish and replace the caps.

Pour in the stock and place in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes. The peppers should be soft and nicely charred. Serve immediately.

It's hard to believe we're putting this project to bed next week with a final posting of Brown Rice recipes. I hope you'll join us and continue to be inspired by Bittman's cooking matrices. I know I am!