My Mother’s Chicken
Stuffed Bell Peppers with
Tomato Sauce (cont.)
6
Rinse the peppers under cold running water. Wipe them dry. Cut the
top 1 inch from each pepper, keeping the stem in tact, and reserve
the tops. With your fingers and, if necessary, with the tip of a small
sharp knife or a teaspoon, remove the core and seeds from each
pepper. Brush the peppers inside and out with the remaining 1/4 cup
of olive oil. Season their insides with salt and pepper.
7
Divide the filling evenly among the peppers, filling them to the top.
Place the lids back on top. In a baking dish just large enough to
hold the peppers comfortably, arrange the stuffed peppers stem end
up. Spoon the hot tomato sauce all around them. Bake in the
convection oven until the peppers are tender, about 1 hour. With a
serving spoon, transfer each pepper to a heated plate. Garnish with
minced parsley.
Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck, Live, Love, Eat! (Random House, 2002)
29
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My Mother’s Chicken
Stuffed Bell Peppers
with Tomato Sauce
6 servings
INGREDIENTS
2 whole chicken legs (skinned & boned), cut into even chunks
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
1/2 pound mushrooms, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 whole egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon salt (plus extra as needed)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
freshly ground white pepper to taste
2 cups long-grain white rice, cooked as directed
5 cups My Favorite Tomato Sauce, (See Recipe, p. 21)
6 medium green bell peppers
fresh parsley (for garnish), minced
METHOD
1
With a meat grinder, or food processor fitted with metal blade,
coarsely grind the chicken. Transfer to a mixing bowl and set aside.
2
In a medium skillet, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil over moderate heat.
Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the
mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until all the
liquid given up by the mushrooms evaporates, 10 - 15 minutes. Set
aside the mixture and let cool.
3
Add the onion and mushrooms to the ground chicken. Add the
garlic, egg, parsley, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, and white pepper
and mix well. To test for taste, sauté a small amount in a little oil and,
when it is done, taste it and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Set
the mixture aside and, when it is cool, stir in the cooked rice.
Reserve.
4
Prepare My favorite Tomato Sauce. Set it aside and keep warm.
5
Place wire rack in convection oven in lowest setting. Turn dial to
bake, set temperature to 350 degrees.
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