Orzo Stuffed Peppers

Geez, I've been getting beat up for not posting for awhile, especially considering I wanted to do this so bad and I've only posted once. I've been busy! Gimme a break. :)

Anyway, I just thought I would share this recipe that I made for dinner the other night. I was tired of the same old meals so I started looking for something I had never had before. I know stuffed peppers aren't all that "different" but I had never had them. I found the recipe on Giada De Laurentiis' website. (I love her!) I tweaked it a little bit to my taste. I used all red peppers because they're my favorite. I also used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth because I'm vegetarian. There's a bit of prep work for this recipe but it's not too bad and was totally worth it in the end. It made my house smell SO good too. Here ya go!



INGREDIENTS:
1 (28oz) can diced Italian tomatoes
2 zucchini, grated
1/2 cups chopped fresh mint leaves (I used basil instead because basil is AWESOME)
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
1 1/2 cups orzo pasta
6 sweet bell peppers (red, yellow or orange)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat over to 400 degrees F.

Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl. Add the zucchini, mint, cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the orzo and cook for 4 minutes. The orzo should only be partially cooked. Use a fine mesh sieve to transfer the orzo to the large bowl with the other vegetables, Stir the orzo into the vegetable mix to combine. Transfer the warm broth to a 3 quart baking dish.

Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all ribs and seeds. Cut a very thin slice from the base to help the peppers stand up.

Place the peppers in the baking dish with the warm chicken broth. Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the top of each pepper with cheese and continue baking until the cheese is golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully transfer the orzo stuffed pepper to a serving plate. Eat up!


Cook Time: 1 hour / Level: Intermediate / Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Tip #1: I halved the recipe and it still made almost 4 whole peppers.
Tip #2: Use real Pecorino Romano cheese if you can. It's SO SO SO much better than that pre-grated packaged stuff!