Baked Peppers Stuffed with Ground Beef, Wild Rice & Goat Cheese
It had been a while since I planned a big dinner, and I decided I wanted to make a Mediterranean feast! I had fallen in love with Stuffed Capsicums (Peppers) while I was in Greece, and it was one of the first recipes I tried after buying The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook. I decided to ramp up the recipe this time around after stumbling upon one at Teri’s Kitchen, which added goat cheese and ground beef to the mix. I edited it a bit to work with the ingredients I had on hand and I think the results were delicious!
One disclaimer: I did cheat a bit by just purchasing a box of Wild Rice Pilaf mix… it probably isn’t too difficult to make the wild rice pilaf from scratch (at the bare minimum just cook long grain white rice with chicken stock) but most of the better recipes ask for all these spices and vegetables to add… and while I think I can be fairly motivated in the kitchen… my laziness wins out often. Maybe someday I will try to make Wild Rice and will update this recipe in turn…
Try serving these with a couple refreshing meze dishes such as Marinated Feta with Olives and Tzatziki for a complete Mediterranean feast!
Baked Peppers Stuffed with Ground Beef, Wild Rice & Goat Cheese (adapted from Teri’s Kitchen and The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook)
Yields: 6 servings
Ingredients:
- 6 oz package Long Grain & Wild Rice Pilaf
- 6 large red, yellow or orange peppers (capsicums)
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tsp fennel seed
- 6 T dry herb mix (Herbs de Provence, Italian, or whatever dry aromatics you have: basil, thyme, marjoram)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 1/4 C tomato paste
- 4 oz mild goat cheese, crumbled
- 4 T freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook the rice according to package instructions. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. You can either cut the tops off the peppers or cut the peppers in half vertically. I tried both methods and my verdict: the former method is a bit “prettier” for presentation purposes, but the latter method is a lot easier to eat… so choose whichever you prefer! Remove the membranes and seeds from the peppers and discard.
Blanch the peppers in the boiling water (not the lids) for 2 minutes, then drain and leave upturned to dry on paper towels.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sauté the ground beef until browned, stirring in the fennel and other dry herbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add the onions and chopped peppers to the pan; cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Remove from heat.
Place the peppers in one layer in a lightly oiled or sprayed baking dish. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef mixture, rice, goat cheese, 3/4 of the diced tomato, tomato paste, and 2 T of Parmesan cheese. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.
Stuff each pepper with the mixture. Top each pepper with the remaining diced tomatoes, fresh basil, and the remaining 2 T of Parmesan cheese.
Pour 100 ml (3 1/2 fl oz) boiling water into the dish. Bake, covered (or just replace the lids depending on how you cut the peppers), for 40 minutes or until the peppers are just tender when tested with the point of a small knife.
These can be served warm or cold. Also, try serving with a Greek Salad or with a Falafel Sandwich with Tzatziki.
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[…] Stuffed peppers […]
food comas 
delicious!!!
xx
Wow those stuffed peppers just looked divine! They sounds so flavourful and delish! 🙂
Looks like so delicious, I want to eat it 🙂
Very well done! They look so fantastic. You added more life to those peppers with how the photos were taken. Great shots!
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nice post, saluut http://ayobangkitindonesiaku.com/
Sounds good…. but if I were you I’d use a different ingredient than goat cheese.
these look fantastic, and I love how you stuffed them two different ways!
total yummy photos. Thanks for inspirations.
LOVE the peppers cut the other way! Changes everythng!
I always had lopsided green humpty dumptys!! LOL
My next peppers are going to lay down for me!
I’m pretty sure this is the solution to world peace. And to the goat cheese haters…..I will pray for your souls.
Beautiful pics!
If you can amp up the protein you’ve got a complete meal there.
Gorgeous,gorgeous!
That looks delicious! I’ll try this out this weekend.
That looks really good, its so mouth watering, the flavours on those ingredients are spot on. I will definitely try these
Raymund
http://angsarap.wordpress.com
Wow, these pictures are great! I’m not a huge fan of peppers, but it looks really yummy!
My mouth is watering for a sample! I’m definitely going to save this to my favorites and try it. I’ve done variations on this recipe, but the goat cheese sounds delicious! Thank you for the idea.
I will definitely try it. The photos made my mouth water. Thanks.
Nam Nam Nam.
Thanks for your inspiration. Continue to do what you do, I’m a subscriber.
Congrats on being freshly pressed!
May everyone be as blessed as you to do what they truly love in life:
http://bigbangbang.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/quality-of-life-a-guide-to-live-the-life-of-your-dreams/
Much love,
Shan
I like, I make, I eat!!! Mouthwatering, just thinking about it. Thanks.
pictures look amazing! im sure it doesnt give it enough justice since i cant smell anything =[
http://enjoibeing.wordpress.com/
Great pics! I love stuffed peppers. 😀
I have not been a fan of stuffed peppers but this recipe looks really good.
Love it! Definitely making tonight 🙂 and great pictures.
That just looks incredible … I love the idea of adding goat cheese.
You had me right up until the goat cheese. That’s gross. Swap it out for a little marble, and we can be friends.
haha maybe feta could work too? i love goat cheese though i can eat it by the spoonful 😛
Yum, thanks for the idea – photos do make it so much easier to follow recipes too 🙂
Joan in New Zealand
Looks absolutely delicious! Will definitely try! Thanks!
when are you inviting me over for dinner?
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I get peppers similar to these at the Uni Halls – except mine have quorn instead of the meat. XD
And now, I know how to make them myself! 😀
I love anything with goat cheese! Thanks so much for sharing. And the photos are just beautiful!
I LOVE stuffed peppers. I make them all the time. I will say your recipe has a different twist to mine that gives me ideas.. great post
I love this as well. It looks absolutely yummy. Looking forwrad to trying your recipe.
Nice post.
Well done.