Best Roasted Peppers With Spaghetti Stuffing Recipes

THE BEST STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• If your peppers don't sit upright on your cutting board, trim about 1/8-inch off the bottoms to even them out so they can stand without falling over. Cut the top off each pepper about 1/2-inch down. Remove and discard the stems, then finely chop the remaining flesh from the tops. Scoop out the seeds and as much of the membranes as you can. Place the peppers in a large microwave-safe bowl with 1/2 cup water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high power for 12 minutes. Carefully uncover and let them sit until ready to assemble.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spread the beef in an even layer and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps with the back of a spoon and scraping up any browned bits from the pan until the meat is lightly browned all over, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the browned meat to a large bowl with a slotted spoon.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and add the reserved chopped peppers, onions, garlic, thyme, 4 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until falling apart and much of the liquid has evaporated, about 7 minutes.
• Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly until brick red colored, about 1 minute. Stir in the wine and cook until the mixture is reduced, very thick and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Transfer to the bowl with the beef. Stir in the rice until completely combined. (The mixture will be wet.) Season with salt and pepper.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
• Place the peppers cut-side up in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Spoon the filling into the peppers, gently pressing it in with the back of a spoon. Be careful not to overstuff and split the sides of the peppers. Bake for 15 minutes. Then top with the cheese and continue baking until the filling is heated through and the cheese is browned in spots, 10 to 12 minutes.

PASTA STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta in the boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes less than the package instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water, then set aside.
• Cut the tops off the peppers. Remove and discard the stems, then finely chop the pepper flesh from the tops and set aside. Scoop out the seeds and as much of the membrane as you can. Place the peppers upright in a baking dish just large enough to accommodate them.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and diced pepper tops. Cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the Italian sausage, crumbling it as you go, and stir until it is cooked and nicely browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the marinara sauce and black pepper, then remove the skillet from the heat. Fold in the ricotta, half of the shredded mozzarella and the reserved pasta. Stir until well combined. Divide the mixture among the prepared peppers. Top the peppers with the remaining mozzarella and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Add 1/2 cup water to the bottom of the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the peppers are soft and the cheese is bubbly, another 15 minutes.
• Serve garnished with fresh basil.

CLASSIC BEEF STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook red bell peppers in the boiling water until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse peppers with cold water.
• Stir eggs, 3 cups of spaghetti sauce, instant rice, onion, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper together in a bowl. Crumble ground beef into the mixture and stir until ground beef is thoroughly combined with sauce and rice mixture.
• Stand peppers in a large baking dish and fill each pepper with beef mixture. Pour 2 cups spaghetti sauce over the peppers. Cover dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until peppers are tender, the filling is set, and an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the middle of a pepper reads at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), 55 to 60 minutes. Uncover and top each pepper with 1 tablespoon Cheddar cheese.

STUFFED PEPPER SPAGHETTI BAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Heat large pot of water to boiling; season generously with kosher salt. Boil spaghetti 3 minutes less than time indicated on package -- it should be quite flexible but still firm in center. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water; drain, and set aside.
• Meanwhile, in 10-inch skillet, cook beef with a dash of salt and a few grinds of pepper, breaking it up as it cooks, until browned. Remove beef from skillet with slotted spoon to plate; set aside. Wipe out skillet; add olive oil. Add bell peppers, onions and garlic with a pinch of salt; cook about 5 minutes or until softened.
• Add beef back to skillet, followed by both cans of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Stir to combine; simmer 5 minutes. Taste sauce for seasoning; add salt if needed. Add cooked pasta and half of the pasta water, tossing to coat -- add more pasta water if you want thinner sauce.
• Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) baking dish with cooking spray. Spread mixture in baking dish; top with cheese.
• Cover with foil. Bake 20 minutes; remove foil, and bake about 10 minutes longer or until cheese is bubbling. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

ROASTED STUFFED RED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a shallow roasting pan with olive oil.
• Carefully halve each pepper lengthwise so that the stem remains intact on each half. Coat each half with oil and place in the pan.
• Reserve 6 basil leaves for garnish and finely chop the remaining leaves to make 3 to 4 tablespoons. In a large bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste. Mix gently but thoroughly. You can make this ahead and keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours.
• Spoon the tomato mixture into the pepper halves and roast until the peppers have browned lightly and the tomato filling is juicy and bubbling, about 1 hour. Garnish each pepper with a whole basil leaf.

STUFFED ROASTED YELLOW PEPPERS OR RED PEPPERS IN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Roast the peppers over a flame, under a broiler or on a grill until uniformly charred. Place in a plastic bag or a tightly covered bowl and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, remove all of the charred skin, rinse briefly and pat dry.
• Carefully cut away the stem from the peppers. Cut a slit down the side of each pepper, from the stem end to the bottom. Gently open out and remove the seeds and membranes; tip out the juice. Try to keep the peppers in one piece. Set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, nonstick skillet and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the parsley and quinoa and mix together until the quinoa is coated with oil. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a baking dish large enough to accommodate all of the peppers. One at a time, lay a pepper in the dish and fill with the quinoa mixture. I do this by gently opening up the pepper, mounding the filling onto one half, and folding the other half back over the filling, overlapping the edges slightly. Lay the peppers in the dish. Cover the baking dish with foil or a lid and bake the peppers for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, reheat the tomato sauce.
• Ladle the tomato sauce onto serving plates or a serving platter. Top with the stuffed peppers and serve.

ROASTED PEPPERS WITH SPAGHETTI STUFFING

Steps:

• Place bell peppers directly over the flame of a gas-stove burner and roast, turning with tongs, until blackened all over. (Or roast peppers under the broiler.) Transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand 15 minutes. Peel off skins, slice off tops, and remove ribs and seeds.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt. Cook pasta 2 minutes less than instructed on package. Drain.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high. Swirl in oil to coat, then add anchovies, breaking them up with the back of a spoon until dissolved. Add onion and capers and cook, stirring occasionally, just until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Pour in vinegar and cook, stirring frequently, until almost evaporated. Add pasta and toss to coat.
• Generously season cavity of each pepper with salt, then fill with a heaping 1/2 cup pasta mixture, twirling pasta with a fork to fit snugly. Place peppers side by side in a 2-quart oval baking dish. Bake until pasta starts to brown in a few spots, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving, topped with oregano.