Quite a few vegetables are delicious when filled with a savory filling and baked but peppers are one of the most flavorful and easiest of vegetables to work with and they hold a generous amount of filling as well.
While some vegetables are best par-cooked before stuffing, peppers only need to be sliced in half length-wise and the seeds removed and they are ready for the filling of your choice. When peppers are baked the flavor and texture are completely different from a raw pepper, they soften and develop a rich flavor that melds perfectly with the savory filling.
Peppers stuffed with a grain salad are a great choice for a buffet, they can be prepared in advance and baked in an oven-to-table dish for easy serving. Stuffed peppers pair well with roasted or grilled meats, fish, and poultry and the vibrant colors make for a beautiful presentation. Because they are substantial, this Stuffed Bell Peppers recipe are also a hearty choice for any non-meat eaters.
What is the Best Filling for Stuffed Peppers?
Another great aspect of stuffed peppers is that the fillings can be varied to include a variety of ingredients. Grains that work well to stuff peppers include cooked rice, orzo pasta, quinoa, or bulgur. The grains can be mixed with any combination of chopped fresh herbs or sauteed greens, garbanzo beans, toasted pine nuts, or chopped olives with some crumbled feta cheese.
A stuffing that includes ground beef, lamb, or turkey topped with chopped parsley and breadcrumbs, combined with Parmesan cheese is also a delicious option.
How to Bake Stuffed Peppers in Convection
Stuffed peppers make an ideal side dish when entertaining because the preparation is simple and they come straight from the oven ready to serve. The peppers can be baked together with other side dishes or with meats that are roasted at a moderate temperature of 350°. If you are baking on two racks in the oven place the peppers on the lower rack and bake for approximately 30 minutes. To avoid the stuffing from drying out during the baking the peppers can be covered for the first 15 minutes of baking.
The peppers can also be baked in a steam oven using the combination Convection Steam mode. Covering the peppers is not necessary when they are baked in the steam oven and if you want a light crisping change the mode to Convection (or Broil) with no added steam for the last 8-10 minutes of cooking time.
Steam ovens are amazing appliances for everyday cooking as well as specialty dishes and in my next blog post, I will review the easy steps to make delicious falling off the bone pork ribs in the steam oven.
Larissa, Your Convection Enthusiast
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