Meat-Stuffed Peppers

Name: Meat-Stuffed Peppers
Yield: makes 4 servings
Ingredients: 1/3 cup Arborio rice; Salt; 8 cubanella or banana peppers or other long, thin-fleshed peppers, each about 6 inches long; 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup); 8 ounces ground meat (see note below); 1 large egg; 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese; 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley; 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano; 3 cups (or as needed) Tomato Sauce (page 151) or sauce that accompanies Chicken Parmigiana, New-Style (page 266)

December 9, 2011

Peppers with a slight kick to them, like the cubanellas or banana peppers suggested at left, are wonderful for this dish. If you can’t find those, choose the long, thin-skinned peppers often sold as “Italian frying peppers” in supermarkets. You can serve the peppers alone or with a side of rigatoni, dressed with some of the sauce from the stuffed-pepper baking dish, grated Pecorino Romano cheese, and a drizzle of olive oil. This is a favorite dish at Becco, our restaurant in New York’s Theater District.

Cooks' Note

A mix of ground beef, pork, and veal is best, but that might not be practical. Try at least to use a blend of ground pork and beef, but, failing that, all ground beef or pork will do.

Recipe notes

Caramelized Onion Pasta

Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.

Vodka Gochujang Pasta

This pasta has some really big energy about it. It’s so extra, it’s the type of thing you should be eating in your bikini while drinking a magnum of rosé, not in Hebden Bridge (or wherever you live), but on a beach on Mykonos.

Heavenly Halva Cake

Serve a thick slice for breakfast or an afternoon pick-me-up.

Kung Pao Cabbage With Tofu

Reliable cabbage is cooked in the punchy sauce and then combined with store-bought baked tofu and roasted cashews for a salad that can also be eaten with rice.

Our Favorite French Onion Soup

Caramelized onions, melty Gruyère, and a deeply savory broth deliver the kind of comfort that doesn’t need improving.

Smothered Italian Sausage

This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.

Golden Mushroom Soup With Orzo & a Pat of Butter

This is the type of soup that, at first glance, might seem a little…unexciting. But you’re underestimating the power of mushrooms, which do the heavy lifting.

White Bean Turkey Chili

A dash of cocoa powder adds depth and richness to the broth of this easy turkey chili.