My New Favourite Pepper: The Cubanelle

This was my first foray into the world of stuffed peppers (or any stuffed vegetable, for that matter). I have eaten and enjoyed them in the past, at restaurants and other people's houses, but I just never quite found the occasion to make them myself. However, after coming across this recipe during a recent Saturday morning channel-surfing session I decided I didn't need any kind of special occasion.  I'd never even heard of Cubanelle peppers in Australia, so naturally, I was curious to find out what they were all about.  Let me tell you, I am certainly glad I did!  The cubanelles have a great flavour - slightly sweeter than a bell pepper but with a slight spicy kick, they cooked up perfectly in the oven. And the colour! That fabulous fresh green of grass shoots and new leaves - very summery. These were really easy to make, and the Mexican inspired flavours in the stuffing mixture ensured that the kitchen smelled amazing while we were cooking. So if, like me, you were looking for an excuse to make stuffed peppers, you just found it!

Stuffed Cubanelles

barely adapted from Sunny Anderson
makes 6 peppers
(The original recipe is for 8 peppers, but unless yours are very small I don't think you'd get more than 6)

1 packet sazon seasoning
1/2 cup warm water
olive oil
1/2 Vidalia onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper (capsicum), finely diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup long-grain rice (I used basmati)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce, divided
1 pound/450g ground beef, (80/20 fat content)
6 cubanelle peppers, stalk and seeds removed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F /175 degrees celsius.
Dissolve the sazon in warm water in a small bowl and set aside.  Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear. Drain and set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan or frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and jalapeno and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add in the rice and garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the garlic begins to brown.  Stir in the sazon water, cumin, and season with salt and pepper. Saute for a further 3 minutes, then remove from the heat, add 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce and set aside to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and add the ground beef. Mix with a wooden spoon (or your hands) until completely incorporated.
Stuff the cubanelle peppers with the beef mixture, using a teaspoon or the end of a wooden spoon to ensure the the mixture is pushed right to the ends. Pour the remaining tomato sauce into a baking dish and arrange the stuffed peppers on top. Brush the outside of the peppers with 1 tablepsoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the peppers are golden and a little browned on top. To serve, pour a little of the tomato sauce from the pan over the peppers.

Paella-inspired

Tonight's meal was supposed to be a stir-fry, but when we discovered that our egg noodles were past their use by date, and our bean sprouts had turned to liquid in their bag, we had to go back to the drawing board.  A quick survey of the refridgerator turned up a few prawns, some chicken breasts, and a little chorizo.  Sounded like the beginnings of a paella to me, and so this is what I came up with.  I also had a yellow bell pepper that I was going to use in the stir fry, so rather than let that go the way of the bean sprouts I threw it in too.  If I'd thought about it more beforehand I think I would have roasted the pepper first to further enhance the flavour (and let's face it, red would definitely have been better on the colour front).  I am hesitant to call this dish 'Paella' as it isn't one in the traditional sense, and I don't want to offend any Spaniards out there.  I don't have a Paella pan, so it didn't quite develop that crusty, toasty layer of rice on the bottom that is so integral to the tastiness of Paella.  The flavours and cooking process are definitely inspired by the eponymous dish, but I think this is really somewhere between a risotto and a pilaf.  Not quite as creamy as the former, nor as fluffy as the latter.  Well, whatever you'd like to call it, it was certainly tasty!

Nearly Paella

adapted from Jamie Oliver

serves 4-6

4 chicken breasts, quartered

salt and pepper

plain flour

1 tablespoon olive oil

150g/5oz chorizo, sliced

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 litres/68 fl.oz of chicken stock, heated and kept warm

1 teaspoon saffron

1.5 teaspoons smoked paprika

500g/17.6oz rice (calasparra or bomba is traditional, I only had arborio and it turned out fine)

1.5 cups frozen peas

1 small bell pepper, cut into thin strips (roast beforehand if you prefer)

10 prawns

Preheat oven to 375F/190C.  Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and then dust with flour.  Heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan (or paella pan) and fry the chicken until golden brown.  Place the chicken pieces on a baking tray and pop into the oven for 20 minutes.

Divide your stock in half, and place the saffron threads in one quantity to infuse.  Return the pan to the heat, add the sliced chorizo and fry until browned and crisp.  Next, add the onion and garlic and cook until soft.  Add the paprika, rice and infused stock and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes of until most of the liquid is absorbed.  (Don't over stir, you don't want to massage the starch out of the rice like you do with risotto. Paella isn't supposed to be creamy.) Add the peas, prawns and pepper to the pan, followed by the remaining half of the stock.  Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes.  Add the cooked chicken pieces and stir to combine.  Serve with lemon wedges.