An old-time family favourite.

We love it when capsicums are in season. It means we can pick up 1kg of them for about $2 or a whole box of them for $4 from Sydney Markets. I remember how expensive capsicums can get in New Zealand and have seen them often at $4 per capsicum which does make this stuffed capsicum dish price prohibitive. But if you can splurge or even grow your own, this is a fabulous meal to have.

When capsicums are in season, I love to make this meal. It’s one that’s dear to my husband’s heart and grew up with his mum making it. Ironically enough, I too grew up with a variation of stuffed capsicums. Mum added more herbs and cooked in a tomato puree. Regardless, it seems every cuisine around the world has their version of stuffed capsicums – from Greek to Mexican with all in between. This version I like to think of as a hybrid Czech/Italian version due to the combined heritage of my husband and I.

What is stuffed capsicum?

If you don’t know, you’re missing out. Each pepper is either hollowed out or halved. Then it’s filled with any of a variety of fillings including meat, vegetables, cheese, rice, or sauce. Each capsicum is then generally roasted in the oven until the pepper is tender with the filling inside cooked to yummy perfection.

We prefer to use red capsicums as when roasted they take a sweet flavour. You can, however, substitute these for orange or yellow ones for the same effect. Green capsicums take on a slightly bitter flavour which is perfect if you’re offsetting it with a tomato-based sauce such as what my mum made.

Stuffed Capsicums

An old time family favourite. This is a great way to use excess capsicums while serving vegetable rich meal onto the dinner table. These stuffed capsicums are wonderful when served straight out of the oven, but are even better the next day!

European, Italian, Main Course, Pork, Vegetables

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

 

• 6 large red capsicums
• 1½ cups white rice, cooked
• 700 g pork mince
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 large onions, diced
• 1 large zucchini, grated
• 2 teaspoons oregano, dried
• 1 tablespoon parsley, dried
• 1 teaspoon chilli flakes, optional
• 2 medium carrots, grated (optional)
• 1 egg
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 180° celsius.
• Wash, chop the tops and core out each of the capsicums. Put into a dish so they stand upright.
• In a bowl, mix all other ingredients together. If you want to pack more vegetables into this meal you can also add grated carrots into the mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Unless you cooked your rice with salted water, you might need to add a little more salt into the mince mixture.
• Stuff each capsicum with the mixture.
• Cover with foil and bake in oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake in oven for a further 15 minutes.
• Serve as is or with mashed potato.

Keyword European, Italian, Main Course, Pork, Vegetables