Listening to Marcia Ball on Saturday night at Gusman made me crave a little piece of the South and New Orleans. And with four pretty little green peppers on hand, I decided to stuff them with andouille, rice, the trinity, cheddar and betel leaves (an Asian leaf used for all sorts of medicinal and cooking purposes). While I normally would have chosen sweet red, orange or yellow peppers for stuffing, the Redlands gave me green. The green bell is the vegetable (or fruit, rather) that “foodies love to hate,” says the New York Times, but when you stuff them with goodness and bake them until they’re tender, I don’t see any reason to complain.
NOLA-style Stuffed Green Peppers
4 medium green bell peppers
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound andouille sausage
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
3 to 4 betel leaves, chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked long-grain white rice
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/2 cup diced tomato
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°.
Slice 1/4 inch off the tops of the green peppers, and cut into a small dice (you’ll need 1/2 cup to saute). Remove seeds and stems from the body of the pepper, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Add andouille, breaking into small pieces. Cook for 3 minutes, and add onion, celery, diced bell pepper, and betel leaves. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Stir in rice, cooking for 3 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in green onions, tomato, and half of the cheddar cheese. Scoop mixture into the bell peppers, and top with remaining cheese. Place peppers into a glass baking dish, and pour water into the dish so it rises 1 inch up the sides of the peppers.
Bake peppers for 30 minutes, until tops are golden.
Serves 4
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
No spewing thank goodness. Honestly, the bold flavors of the andouille (which we found at Whole Foods), onion and cheddar left just enough room for the betel leaf flavor to peek through. It didn’t make or break the recipe, but it was nice, subtle addition.
Caroline, how were the betel leaves in this? Wrapped mine around fish last night and my husband almost spewed! I still get a more medicinal taste over the root beer? Did you get the andouille at Publix?
Also, the reason we get the peppers green is because the peppers would have to be on the plant longer to wait for them to ripen and turn red. That’s why the red/yellow varieties are more expensive, they are more expensive to produce, longer on the plant, longer and more expensive to water and feed.
I love Marcia Ball!