Mikki Brisk

 

 

It was one of those days. Hot. Muggy. Uncomfortable. Add to that the fact that my skin wasn’t quite fitting, and, well, what can a girl do? I couldn’t hop a plane to nowhere. I couldn’t up and move to the beach. My soul was hungry and I knew I needed to feed myself. I did the only thing I could: I made comfort food.

 

When I’m craving comfort, I don’t tend to give any thought to weather. I only think about trying to mother myself. That’s how I came up with this recipe. I had a menagerie of odd ingredients on hand, so I didn’t have to go shopping. And it was a resounding success. The only thing that could’ve made this meal better would have been a cold snap. Really, it should’ve been cool…

 

Here’s what you’ll need:

 

Sweet, Mini-Peppers; Cooked Shrimp; Green Onions; Prosciutto; Bread Crumbs; Cilantro; Goat Cheese; Gruyere Cheese (or Parmesan); Lime Juice; Smoked Paprika; Olive Oil; Salt; Pepper. (You’ll also have to decide if you’re serving the peppers over pasta or polenta – or something else – and what sort of sauce you prefer.) Note: if you despise Cilantro, I won’t hold it against you. But please, please, please substitute another fresh, green herb such as Italian Parsley or Basil. Nothing beats fresh herbs. Really.

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

 

Cut the tops from the peppers and clean them, inside and out. Set aside.

 

 

Combine shrimp, green onions, prosciutto, bread crumbs, 1/4 c. cilantro, lime juice, goat cheese, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Drizzle only enough olive oil to bind the ingredients together. It may end up being about 1/2 c. olive oil. It may be less. Or more. You’ll just have to gauge it for yourself.

 

 

Once it’s all mixed, it should hold together. When pushed to the side of the bowl, it will look thick, sort of like this:

 

 

Using your hands, or a tiny-tiny spoon, stuff each of the cleaned peppers.

 

 

Place the prepared peppers in a baking dish small enough to hold them in close proximity to one another. If they’re “standing up,” they won’t lose their stuffing while baking.

 

 

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until heated through. Once removed, your peppers will look sort of like this:

 

 

Notice how the peppers themselves have softened a bit. And the stuffing barely browns. This is good. You don’t want to cook them to death.

 

At this point, I serve these peppers over hot, cooked polenta, but if you’re not down with polenta, cook up some pasta.. (The Barefoot Contessa’s Rosemary Polenta is da bomb! I halve the recipe and I stop cooking at the point of being thick and bubbly in the pan. I don’t let it set, cut it or fry it. It ends up being more like a mashed potato replacement.) I then ladle some heated sauce over the peppers and polenta. I like to use a 50/50 mixture of jarred red pepper dip from Trader Joe’s and marinara sauce (jarred or homemade will work). I grate a little Gruyere cheese over each serving and then I sprinkle the reserved 1 T. of chopped cilantro over the servings as well.

 

This is a beautiful dish, colorful and fragrant. The flavors come together in a way that even Mister loves. And I admit, I’m danged in love with it, too. It IS NOT a Tuesday-night-just-got-home-from-work dish. It’s more of a “Sunday Supper” kind of thing. It takes a little time.

 

Feeding your body and soul can be meditative. Nurturing. When you feel that while cooking, you’re using the most important ingredient: Love.

 

Should’ve Been Cool Stuffed Peppers

serves 4

 

12 Sweet, Mini-Peppers (or any other sweet, medium-sized pepper); 3 per person

1/3 c. Cooked Shrimp, chopped

3 Green Onions, chopped (White and Light Green Parts only)

1/4 c. Prosciutto, chopped

1/3 c. Bread Crumbs

1/4 c. plus 1 T. Cilantro, chopped and separated (Use the T. of Cilantro for Garnish)

1 T. Lime Juice

1/3 c. Goat Cheese, crumbled

1/4 t. Black Pepper

1/8 t. Salt

1/8 t. Smoked Paprika

Olive Oil

Gruyere Cheese for Grating Over Cooked Peppers (Parmesan is okay, too)

Cooked Pasta or Polenta for Serving

Marinara Sauce for Serving

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the tops from the peppers and clean, inside and out. Set aside.

Combine the remaining ingredients (NOT Gruyere Cheese, Pasta / Polenta, or Marinara Sauce), using only enough olive oil to bind the stuffing. (It may end up being around 1/2 c. olive oil.)

Using your hands (or a small spoon), stuff each of the 4 prepared peppers and place in a baking dish small enough to hold the peppers in close proximity to one another.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until heated through.

 

I serve this over polenta (the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe is da bomb), with a sauce made from combining equal parts prepared red pepper dip (from a jar) and marinara sauce (homemade or prepared). Heat the sauce and ladle over the stuffed peppers and polenta. Grate some gruyere cheese and sprinkle over. Garnish with reserved cilantro.

 

Here’s the printable…