Stuffed Romano Peppers - a Visual Jewel

These are very easy to make, and for once the description of 'jewel' applies to something other than (and much nicer than) pomegranates! Not that I'm biased or anything. I just think these look and taste lovely.

The recipe is versatile - apart from the peppers themselves and the egg, onion and cheese, any of the other ingredients can be substituted. Perhaps chopped walnuts instead of olives, or quartered artichoke hearts instead of mushrooms. I use Sainsbury's basic Italian hard cheese for the topping, as it looks, cooks and tastes like Parmesan (which isn't vegetarian, bleat bleat). Still, Cheddar or Emmental, even blue cheese could be used instead. 2 cloves of garlic, pressed or finely chopped, would be good, too. 

Meet & Greet

Depending how rapidly you wield a knife, prep should take about 20 minutes, then another 25 mins or so to bake. Best served straight from the oven, but they're also good at room temperature. 

The quantity given would serve 4 as a starter (i.e. one half pepper each) or 2 as a main course. Accompaniments could be baked or tiny new potatoes, fried rice, tenderstem, or CHIPS.

Ingredients

2 Romano peppers, halved lengthwise, seeds removed

1 free-range egg

2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (e.g. rosemary, basil) or 1 tbsp dried

1 medium onion (about 60g), peeled and finely chopped

8 pitted black olives, quartered

40g mushrooms (about 3 medium), trimmed and roughly chopped

35g vegetarian hard cheese, grated

black pepper 

A shallow baking dish or tin is needed, large to hold the pepper halves in a single layer. It's a good idea to line the dish/tin with parchment. The oven should be heated to 175C.

Method

1   Keep the halved peppers on a plate or chopping board initially, so they're easy to fill.

2   Crack the egg into a medium bowl, and beat lightly.

3   Add the herbs, onion, olives, mushrooms, and half of the cheese.

4   Season the mixture well with pepper and stir until fully mixed.

5   Place the peppers into the baking dish, and divide the filling between them, pressing 

          down to flatten. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over.

Been Stuffed

6   Place the dish in the centre of the oven and bake for about 25 minutes until the cheese
          is golden and the peppers are soft.

And here's what should come out ....

Ready When You Are!

I hope you love these as much as I do. They can of course be prepped in advance and kept in the fridge for a while before baking. The 25 mins cooking time is enough for a nice glass of something white and chilled - and I'm thinking Gavi rather than milk.