Creole Stuffed Peppers

P64: veganomican These peppers are stuffed with a mildly spicy mixture of black eyed peas and veggies. We don't know that much about Southern cooking besides what we've gleaned from too many hours of watching the Food Network, but we used the basic herbs and spices from Creole cookinglede, organ and thyme-so we think these earn the right to be called Creole. Choose peppers that aren't oddly shaped and that look like they would be good for cutting in half and stuffing. Serve with Messy Rice (page 174) and Hot Sauce Glazed Tempeh (page 202). They also go well with mashed potatoes and Jalapeño-Corn Gravy (page 329).

Updated at: Tue, 27 Feb 2024 00:03:20 GMT

Ingredients

4 servings

4bell peppers

large

2 tablespoonsolive oil

plus more for casserole dish

1yellow onion

medium-size, chopped finely

2jalapeño peppers

cut in half, seeded, if you don't want too much heat, and sliced finely

1 cupcarrot

finely diced

4 clovesgarlic

chopped finely

2dried bay leaves

1 teaspoondried oregano

VEGANOMICON

1 teaspoondried basil

2 teaspoonssweet paprika

3 sprigsfresh thyme

1 teaspoonsalt

1 x 15 ouncecan diced tomatoes

2 x 15 ounceblack-eyed peas

cans, drained and rinsed, cooked

Snacks

Little

¼ cupfresh parsley

chopped

Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish with a little olive oil. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Step 2

Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise through the stem end. For aesthetic pur- poses, try to leave the stem intact on one side; if you can't manage it, no love lost. Remove the seeds and membranes. Submerge the bell peppers in the boiling water and cover. Let them boil for 5 minutes, then drain them immediately and rinse with cold water to cool them down a bit.

Step 3

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion, jalapeños, and carrot for about 10 minutes. You want the veggies to brown, espe- cially the carrot. If it looks like the veggies are steaming rather than browning, then raise the heat a bit. Add the garlic about 5 minutes into the cooking process.

Step 4

Add the bay leaves, the other herbs and spices, and the salt; sauté for 1 more minute. Add the tomatoes and peas, stir and cover, and cook for 10 minutes. If it seems too liquidy, then remove the cover and cook long enough to reduce some of the liquid. Mix in the parsley.

Step 5

Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. The mixture will be hot, so we find it's easier to just remove the herbs while filling the peppers; just be on the lookout for them.

Step 6

Spoon a little less than ½ cup of the veggie mixture into each pepper half. Again, the filling will be hot, so be careful while you are handling it. Place the pepper halves in the prepared casserole dish and bake for about 25 minutes.