Bell Peppers with Spicy Pork Stuffing

I had been longing to try my hand at making stuffed bell peppers, but I kept putting it off until recently (actually, not that recent, come to think of it; just didn't get the time to post this sooner).  Bell peppers were on sale (thanks to the bountiful Summer), and I thought that it would be just the right time to have a go at this. 

 

Anyone that knows me, knows I'm a big fan of spicy food, and fortunately for me, my son is too!  Therefore, I knew what my stuffing would be - a spicy meat filling.  

I had originally wanted to make the filling with lamb, but since luck didn't favour me that day, I didn't find ground lamb at the supermarket.  I'm not very fond of ground beef or chicken, so my only other option was to settle for pork.

I made this recipe up as I went along, and you can pretty much use any kind of meat for the filling.  I like to use a lot of onions, ginger and garlic, but you can always adapt the measurements to your taste.

I do plan to retry this recipe with crumbled Indian cottage cheese, called paneer, and mixed veggies sometime in the future.  I will be starting to get ready for my cooking classes again, so I have a sneaking feeling it won't be anytime soon.  If you try it ahead of me, please drop me a line to let me know how that came along.

Here's the recipe that serves four!

Bell Peppers Stuffed with Spicy Pork

Ingredients

Bell peppers - 4 large (any kind will do; I used orange and yellow)

Ground pork: 250 gms

Onion, sliced - 1 medium

Green peas (frozen or fresh) - 1 cup

Potato, cubed - 1 medium

Croutons - 1 cup

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Cinnamon - 1/2 stick

Cloves - 2

Green cardamom - 2

Peppercorns - 10

Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder - to taste (remember we're adding peppercorns)

Salt - to taste

Fresh coriander, chopped - 1/2 cup

Olive oil - 3 tbsp

Method

For the stuffing:

1. In a grinder, add cinnamon, cloves, green cardamom and peppercorns and grind to a fine powder.
2. Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat, and add the ginger and garlic paste.  
3. Saute for a minute and then add the sliced onion.
4. Add the salt, and let the onions cook until they become translucent.
5. Make a paste of all the spice powders with a couple of tablespoons of water and add to the onions.
6. Let the spices cook for a few minutes, till they are nice and aromatic.
7. While the spices are cooking, microwave the small potato cubes in 2 cups of water, so they are half-cooked (oven settings vary, but about 2 minutes on high in a 1000w oven).  Drain the potatoes and set aside.
8. Once the spices look nicely cooked and you see the oil starting to leave the onion, add the ground pork. Cook well, breaking up any lumps with a spatula.
9. Add the potatoes at this stage, cover the saucepan and let cook for about 10 mins, stirring frequently.
10. When the potatoes are almost cooked, add the green peas, and cook covered for an additional 5 mins. 
11. Add the croutons and fresh coriander, and mix them in well.
12. The filling needs to be really dry, so if you see any moisture, cook uncovered for a few more minutes until completely dry. 

For the bell peppers:

1. Wash the bell peppers very thoroughly under warm running water and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Slice off the tops of the peppers and retain.
3. Pass a knife very carefully around the insides of the peppers to remove the seeds and the white pith. Be careful not to puncture the flesh on the sides or the bottom.
4. Wipe down the insides of the peppers with a paper towel, making sure it's completely dry. 
5. Take a few drops of the remaining oil on your fingertips and rub the insides and outsides of the peppers.  
6. Stuff the peppers generously with the pork filling, and put the tops back on.
7. Preheat oven to 350 deg.
8. Line a baking sheet/tray with foil sprayed or rubbed with oil.
9. Place the peppers on the tray and bake for about 45 mins to an hour (time could vary with different ovens). Make sure that the peppers are cooked, but not completely mushy.  They won't hold their shape, otherwise.
10. Take the peppers out and gently brush them down with a little more oil.
11. Put the oven to the highest temperature setting, and put the peppers back in for another 5- 7 minutes, till the skin starts to char a little. 
12. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes, as they will be too hot to handle. 
13. Carefully remove the peppers to a serving plate, and serve immediately.  Remember that the peppers will be a little soft and will need really careful handling to ensure they retain their shape.

Enjoy!  My son loved it, as you can tell from his plate! :)

Day 276 - Breaded Omelette Recipe

I sometimes make this for a Sunday brunch, and it has become quite a favourite with family and friends alike.  It's really simple to make, and as long as you have bread and eggs at home, you can pretty much throw in any other add-ins that your palette or mind fancies.  I made this one with lots of coriander and topped it off with shredded cheddar cheese.

You will need: 

Bread - 6 slices

Eggs - 4

Milk - 1/2 cup

Fresh coriander/cilantro - a big bunch

Cheddar cheese, shredded - 1/2 cup

Salt & black pepper powder - to taste

Crushed chilli flakes (optional) - to taste

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F.
2. Grease a small and shallow baking tray and keep aside.
3. Cut the bread into small cubes - about 1/4 inch.
4. Spread the cubes in a single layer on a lined baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes.
5. Beat the eggs in a bowl and add milk, coriander, salt and pepper.
6. Once the bread is baked, pour the cubes into the bowl of egg mixture; mix well till the cubes have absorbed most of the liquid, but before they turn mushy.
7. Pour this into the greased baking tray and top with crushed chilli peppers (if you are using it), and then with the shredded cheese.
8. Bake for about 25 minutes until the eggs have set completely.
9. Cut the omelette into squares, and enjoy with ketchup or without any condiments - it tastes great as is.

For variations - you can add bacon bits, sausage, green pepper, onions, green onions, shrimp - you name it. 

I also made a smoothie with berries and bananas and that really went down well with the omelette.  

And I wanted to try to get some reflections, but I didn't have the macro lens to do it right, so I just took a shot anyway. 

Day 275 - Cooking class

I finally have a couple of images from my cooking class.  This happened purely by chance, because normally I'm so busy trying to get things running on schedule, I never stop to take pictures.  However, my students for today's class wanted to somehow preserve the memory of coming for an Indian cooking class - a first for both.  And since they didn't have their cameras, I offered to do a quick photo of them posing with the meal they'd learned to cook.



This was the main course, and the dessert was cooling in the fridge.  We also learned how to make a great "Masala Chai" after the meal.

These two lovely ladies were really gracious and had absolutely no objections to my using their photo for my shot of the day.

Day 256 - Relearning the Alphabet: The Letter "V"

"V" for "V" in the Corner of the Serving Dish

The thought of "V" only kept bringing "vase" in my mind.  My friend suggested "Va-va-vrroomm" and that would mean a bike.  Where would I find a bike in this freezing cold?  My "vocabulary" seemed limited, so I decided to focus on the concept of vocabulary.  However, I was doing the image for my beef curry recipe when I decided to use one stone to kill two birds.

I don't think I will be able to put much effort into my photography in the next few weeks, because I'm now bracing myself for my cooking classes starting this weekend and continuing over the next few.  I'm wishing myself luck - they tend to be very, very intense.

I can't say I'm pleased with this shot at all, but unfortunately I have too many things to focus on right now - the cooking class being the top priority over the next few weeks.

Day 242 - Relearning the Alphabet: The Letter "Q"

"Q" for Quick Meal

A delicious and healthy meal/snack on the fly that will keep your rumbling tummies from caving in while you do other stuff.

Another one of my culinary experiments - I sliced up some tomatoes, put the slices on whole wheat bread, drizzled them with olive oil, salt and pepper and then gave them a quick grill at 450 deg F for 10 mins. I fried up eggs on the side and tossed them on to the grilled toast, sprinkled some more salt and pepper and wolfed them down.

My teen hates tomatoes as well as eggs - but this went down pretty well with him too, albeit with a few drops of hot chilli sauce on top of the eggs.  I'm sometimes amazed at how he enjoys hot and spicy food! It's all in the genes! ;-)

The ingredients ...

The prepping ...

The frying ...

And finally the finished product! 

I like my egg yolk a little runny, but I think it would taste equally good if you cooked them through as well.  I also think some finely chopped parsley could have added more flavour, but again, no parsley at home! :(  

The shots were taken under fluorescent lighting (I know, I'm too lazy to set up my cranky speedlight, but I will soon have a brand new lighting kit to play with),  with my 18-55 mm lens, on Aperture Priority, except the image with the oil stream.  I took that on Shutter Priority since I needed a faster shutter speed to capture the stream as I was pouring the oil which meant my hand wasn't steadily dropping the oil on one spot.  

High ISO of 1600 for the shot with the oil, and exposure was compensated +2 stops.  The rest were on ISO 400 and mostly aperture at f/5.