Chorizo and Rice Stuffed Peppers

I love food stuffed inside food. I’m not talking turducken (a chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey) or anything extreme like that, but rather smaller bites. Neat little packages with a morsel or two inside a wrapper, providing layers of flavor. The exterior can be a carbohydrate: empanadas, knishes, pierogis, shrimp scampi stuffed shells, or larb filled dumplings, for example, or a meat such as bacon wrapped dates or prosciutto wrapped asparagus. It can be a leafy vegetable wrapped around a savory filling: stuffed cabbages and stuffed grape leaves meet those criteria. I have even hollowed out Brussels sprouts to make room for a filling. But I am especially enamored by vegetables that have a natural pocket in which to place the contents; think stuffed mushrooms or endive boats, each of which can be packed in a myriad of ways.

Peppers, with their natural internal void, make the perfect vegetable to stuff. Roasted piquillo peppers from a jar or tin make a delicious appetizer when filled with goat cheese and herbs. Kibbeh stuffed peppers – packed with spiced ground lamb and toasted pine nuts – are an excellent treat. In late summer I harvest Hungarian hot wax peppers from my garden and stuff them with feta, the mildly spicy peppers tamed by the salty cheese.

On a recent Saturday I was foraging through the refrigerator for ideas for Small Plates Saturday Night. There was leftover rice and I almost always have a little Spanish-style chorizo in the cheese drawer. Seasoning the rice with chorizo seemed like a natural combination. I just needed a vehicle to get it from the plate to our mouths. I knew peppers would work beautifully, but a normal size bell pepper would make a full meal on its own, and there are no junior size fresh peppers in the garden in January. And then I remembered the bags of petit peppers that are sold practically year round at supermarkets. One or two bites, they would make the perfect vessel for the spiced up rice and chorizo.

The peppers first get softened under the broiler, which makes them easier to slice open and stuff. The filling is prepared and then spooned inside each individual pepper. They can be prepared ahead, refrigerated at this point until just before serving time, when they are reheated for a few minutes in a hot oven.

The Chorizo and Rice Stuffed Peppers were a success. The sweet, roasted flesh of the pepper complimented the slightly spicy, hearty rice inside. They made for a perfect small plate on a relaxing Saturday night while at the same time satisfying my craving for food stuffed inside food.

Chorizo and Rice Stuffed Peppers

What is especially important to learn from this recipe is the technique – how to prepare and stuff the peppers. The filling itself can vary depending on your tastes or the ingredients you have on hand. Ground beef and orzo. Shrimp or crab. Indian-spiced potatoes. Sausage and breadcrumbs with Parmesan. Quinoa and herbs. Almost anything will work, making a perfect little package.

Makes 15 – 20 small peppers, about 1 hour

15 – 20 small sweet peppers

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced, grated, or pressed

1-inch piece of dry Spanish-style chorizo (sweet or hot, about 1½ oz.), diced

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

½ tsp. smoked paprika

½ tsp. cayenne pepper, more or less to taste

½ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. fresh ground pepper

½ cup dry white wine

1 cup cooked white rice

2 Tbsp. parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish

1. Place whole peppers in a single layer on a foil-covered sheet pan. Broil about 2 inches from heat for 2 to 3 minutes until the surface of the peppers softens and just starts to blister in spots. Remove the peppers from the oven, flip, and broil the other side for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook the onions, stirring frequently until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chorizo and cook until the fat from the chorizo is rendered and it is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir constantly for a minute or two, so it does not burn. Mix in the smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and ground pepper and cook for about 1 minute to allow the flavor of the spices to bloom, and then add the white wine and rice, stirring to combine. Cook until the rice is warmed through and most of the wine has been cooked off, a few additional minutes. Set aside to cool. When cool, mix in chopped parsley.
3. Pre-heat oven to 350 ^oF.
4. Prepare the peppers for stuffing by carefully making a single slice lengthwise to open pepper and perhaps two short slices around the stem perpendicular to the first slice to make a capital “T.” Remove as many seeds and as much of the internal membrane as easily possible. The pepper flesh may rip a little during this process, but that’s not a problem.
5. Carefully stuff peppers with 1 tablespoon or more of filling depending on size, so they are almost overflowing. Close the pepper around the filling as much as possible, and place on a foil-covered sheet pan. Continue until all peppers are stuffed or all filling is used up. The uncooked, stuffed peppers can be prepared ahead and refrigerated, covered, for up to 2 days.
6. Put sheet pan in oven and bake peppers for 5 – 10 minutes. Serve hot, garnished with parsley, if desired.

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