SERVES:
4
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups cooked white rice (see procedure)
4 large Bell peppers, any color (see procedure and hints)
tops of the 4 Bell peppers, diced
1/2 small onion, peeled and diced
approx. 1/3 - 1/2 cup diced celery
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 - 2 Tbs vegetable oil for sauteing diced veggies
1 cup diced chorizo sausage (approx. one link -- see hints below)
1 cup tomato sauce (plus more as needed for topping and serving peppers)
PROCEDURE:
Plan ahead and cook about 3/4 cup of white rice according to directions. You're looking for 2 cups of rice total.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the tops off of 4 large Bell peppers, of any color, and scoop out the seeds.
Add about 1/2-inch water to a large, deep pot on the stovetop on high heat and, when the water comes to a boil, add the peppers, put a lid on top and steam them for a few minutes until they're tender crisp.
Drain them and run them under cold water to cool down, trying not to actually fill the hollow peppers with water -- just run water over the outsides if possible.
While thats happening, take a few minutes to finely dice the tops of the peppers, dice half of a small onion and an equal amount of celery and mince one clove of garlic.
Add a splash of vegetable oil to a large saute pan and cook the diced vegetables to soften.
Once they have softened up, add 1 cup of finely diced chorizo sausage, or more if you like, add the 2 cups of cooked rice and 1 cup of tomato sauce, stir to combine and heat through.
At that point, place the cooked peppers into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and divide the rice mixture into those.
Add a splash of water to the loaf pan and top each pepper with a little more tomato sauce, seal with aluminum foil and place into the preheated 350 degree oven.
They'll take just about 30 - 40 minutes to bake, you want them to be hot all the way through.
HINTS:
You could blanch the deseeded peppers in a large pot of boiling water instead if you don't have a deep pan with a lid for steaming.
Peel the casing off of the sausage before dicing if you like.
Serve with more warm tomato sauce and grated cheese if you like.