I love capsicums (or bell peppers!), I always have. I like them in any shape or form and made in any sorts of ways, but this is by far my favourite recipe. My mum would make these often, and the house would be filled with the aromas of baked capsicums… yum! So hearthy! The filling is somewhat a Zangara’s trademark, in the sense that we use this same stuffing (with slightly different proportions) for a few different recipes (see the pork involtini or the eggplant involtini recipes for example) and I find that it is a winner with both meat and vegetable based dishes. These capsicums are great both as an appetiser (especially if you manage to find smaller ones) and as a main dish. I remove the skin and I find that by doing this, capsicums are much easier to digest. I also think that they look quite pretty, what do you say? Buon appetito everyone!
Ingredients: (for 4 people as a main dish)
4 medium-big capsicums (bell peppers), red or yellow
½ medium onion, finely chopped
100 gms salami, chopped small
100 gms provolone piquant, cubed small
8 tbsp Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
2 cups breadcrumbs
4 tbsp tinned diced tomatoes
10 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + some to brush the capsicums
1 tsp salt
To make the stuffing, put the chopped onion, chopped salami, cubed provolone piquant, grated Parmigiano Reggiano, breadcrumbs, diced tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and salt in a bowl and mix well. You may have to add more extra virgin olive oil, depending on the breadcrumbs and how much they absorb the liquids. You need to obtain a soft enough stuffing so that when you press it with your hands, it retains the shape you give it and doesn’t crumble. Keep it aside.
Cut off the tops of the capsicums and clean the inside by removing the seeds and the white parts. Rinse well.
Fill the capsicums with the the suffing and close them with their tops. Brush/spray them with some extra virgin olive oil and put them in an oven proof dish lined with baking paper.
Bake them in a pre heated oven at 180ºC – 350ºF for about 30 minutes or until cooked through (they will have to be soft). When ready, cover them tightly with some aluminium foil for 5 minutes, then remove the skin (be careful, they will still be hot! But if you let them cool down, removing the skin will be very hard!).
You can serve them warm or at room temperature (I prefer mine on the cooler side). You can use small capsicums to serve as appetisers, or even slice the big ones and share. Or serve a full one per person: it makes a great main dish, especially if served with a simple salad.
NOTE: to make this a vegetarian dish, just skip the salami.
Stuffed Capsicums - Peperoni ripieni
Ingredients
- 4 medium-big capsicums bell peppers, red or yellow
- ½ medium onion finely chopped
- 100 gms salami chopped small
- 100 gms provolone piquant cubed small
- 8 tbsp Parmigiano Reggiano finely grated
- 2 cups breadcrumbs
- 4 tbsp tinned diced tomatoes
- 10 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + some to brush the capsicums
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
-
To make the stuffing, put the chopped onion, chopped salami, cubed provolone piquant, grated Parmigiano Reggiano, breadcrumbs, diced tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and salt in a bowl and mix well. You may have to add more extra virgin olive oil, depending on the breadcrumbs and how much they absorb the liquids. You need to obtain a soft enough stuffing so that when you press it with your hands, it retains the shape you give it and doesn’t crumble. Keep it aside.
-
Cut off the tops of the capsicums and clean the inside by removing the seeds and the white parts. Rinse well.
-
Fill the capsicums with the the suffing and close them with their tops. Brush/spray them with some extra virgin olive oil and put them in an oven proof dish lined with baking paper.
-
Bake them in a pre heated oven at 180ºC – 350ºF for about 30 minutes or until cooked through (they will have to be soft). When ready, cover them tightly with some aluminium foil for 5 minutes, then remove the skin (be careful, they will still be hot! But if you let them cool down, removing the skin will be very hard!).
-
You can serve them warm or at room temperature (I prefer mine on the cooler side). You can use small capsicums to serve as appetisers, or even slice the big ones and share. Or serve a full one per person: it makes a great main dish, especially if served with a simple salad.
Recipe Notes
To make this a vegetarian dish, just skip the salami.
I also want to thank my friend Sawsan from Chef in Disguise for giving MsM the Versatile Blogger Award and the Very Inspiring Blogger Award!
I truly feel honoured and you if you follow my blog regularly, you will know how much I love Sawsan’s work. I think she is one of the most talented food bloggers out there! If you are among the few who still doesn’t know Chef in Disguise, please visit it straight away and you’ll know what I mean! THANK YOU Sawsan!!
Manu…these look incredible! I’ve been searching for a stuffed pepper recipe that does not involve rice! And so I’m glad to find this beauty! And no…I wouldn’t dare leave out the salami! Beautiful photography! : )
Glad to have another stuffed pepper recipe and such an interesting one! Mine also have normally involved various grains and just a day back I found one which had a very interesting mix without any ‘bulking’. Admittedly I do not usually use salami, but a 25 gm portion will hardly make a difference!! Looks beautifully appetizing 🙂 !
I love capsicums, stuffed or unstuffed. They add something special to many dishes. I also love the Chef in Disguise blog.
Stuffing looks so yummy! I have tried only making stuffed tomatos.
Delicious! I also love bell peppers any which way. I’m actually making stuffed peppers tonight, but a little differently – I love your version!