Stuffed baby peppers 1 - Chinese-flavour rice

When I saw these lovely, golden-orange baby peppers in the supermarket, I simply could NOT resist buying them! If I could have preserved them in their gorgeous orange colour, I probably wouldnt have used the peppers ever!



As it was, though, I did - I baked them, with two types of stuffing. The cupful or so of leftover rice I had came in useful here.

Neither Pete nor I could settle on what to have for supper, although he wanted onion bhajis which I hadnt made in a long time. Finally we decided to go with a selection of appetizers or light snacks for our supper. The final count was: Baby peppers with two kinds of stuffing, corn fry a la Sury of Lima Beans & Delhi Chaat and onions bhajis. Entirely satisfying and fairly healthy, what with all the vegetables and corn which I consider to have balanced the deep-fried aspect of the bhajis! (Please dont make me lose my grip on fantasy with any down-to-earth comments... please!!) :)

Recipe for: Stuffed baby peppers 1 - Chinese-flavour rice



Ingredients:

5-6 baby peppers
1/2 cup cooked rice, tossed with 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup peas, cooked
1-2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp hot chilli sauce
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp chinese 5-spice powder
Pinch of salt
1 tsp oil
1/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
Olive-oil spray to coat

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan, add the chinese five-spice powder and the chopped onions, cooking them on low heat till the onions are soft and tender.



2. Add the cooked peas, rice, soy sauce, chilli sauce, black pepper powder and salt to taste and mix well. Heat through, then allow to cool.



3. While the filling is cooling, prepare the peppers. Make a slit in each pepper vertically on one side, taking care not to cut through to the other side. Remove the seeds carefully but leave the stem still attached. (It'll make it easier to turn the peppers when they're hot from the oven.)



4. Place the peppers in a bowl and pour boiling water over. Let the peppers steep for 5 minutes, then drain and shake the excess water from the peppers.



5. Carefully spoon the filling into each pepper, so as not to split it entirely open. Press a tsp of breadcrumbs firmly over the slit.



6. Spray olive oil to coat the peppers on both sides. Place the peppers slit-side down on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper.

7. Bake at 180C for 10 minutes, then turn the peppers seam-side up so that the breadcrumbs brown nicely (5 minutes or till the peppers are done).

8. Serve warm on a bed of shredded lettuce and matchstick carrots as an appetizer or with a meal as a side.