Beef-oregano stuffed peppers are another comfort food that you should put on your menu. Juicy beef, fresh oregano, tomatoes and olives in a halved bell pepper are served with roasted sweet potato cubes and some delicious potato-garlic cream.
Stuffed peppers are a classic. They are versatile, and simple to prepare and everyone likes them. There is something special about this dish when you cut into that semi crunchy pepper and you discover the juicy and savoury stuffing. Yes. It’s fun to eat and you always go back to it.
How do you cut your peppers? There are different ways of cutting the pepper, though. Well, I know three ways, until this moment. Wink. You can either cut it in half lengthwise or crosswise and, of course, by making a small opening at the top. The latter is what my mom always makes. This method holds the most stuffing, but other methods are just as good. Wink.
Stuffing
When it comes to stuffing, there is no limitation. Firstly, for a meaty version, use any meat you like. It can be beef, pork, chicken, or mixed and you can pick either minced meat or cut in smaller chunks, too. The stuffing in this recipe is a mixture of minced beef, plenty of oregano and green olives. Oregano gives a lovely mediterranean aroma to meat or any other food.
Oregano is probably most know as pizza seasoning. But, this herb pairs great with tomato salad, eggs and omelttes, fish, pork, chicken and vinaigrettes. I love its slightly pungent flavour with minty, green and earthy notes.
Secondly, vegetarian stuffing can be just as delicious. Take rice, lentils or quinoa, mix them with vegetables, add some herbs and spices and you have a gorgeous meatless stuffing. Check out my quinoa stuffed peppers. A delicious combination of quinoa tricolore, chickpeas, carrots and turmeric. Yummy.
Cold peppers to go
And, there are even more variations. Sometimes, in summer, I stuff the raw peppers with a mixture of oats, eggs, carrots and rosemary. Something similar to this asparagus oatmeal bowl. That’s a wonderful lunch to go. Sometimes I add some cheese or swapped the carrots with chickpeas or green peas. However you make them, they will taste amazing and they will keep you full.
The classic pairing with stuffed peppers is mashed potatoes and tomato sauce. Right? And I love that combination. Anyway, I was thinking; how about a sweet potato? I like that, too. Instead of wedges or fries form, I cut them into cubes. And, since I had lots of potato cubes, I decided to make a lovely garlicky potato cream, as well. Of course, you can use classic potatoes or even pumpkin or celery root.
Ingredients for two portions of beef-oregano stuffed peppers:
- 2 tsp of olive oil
- 1 red onion (chopped)
- 400 g ground beef (pork or chicken)
- 200 g pelati (peeled canned tomatoes)
- 1 Tbsp of tomato paste
- 200 ml warm vegetable or beef broth
- 13 green olives
- 70 g fresh oregano
- salt and pepper
- 2 bell peppers
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 3 garlic cloves
- 50-80 ml milk (any milk)
To begin, prepare the stuffing. In a larger pan, drizzle some olive oil. Once hot, add the onion and ground meat and cook them for 8 minutes or until tender and nicely browned.
Then, stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes, broth and oregano. Simmer for 35 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Afterwards, season to taste with salt and stir in the olives. Cook for 5 more minutes. Cover and set aside.
Furthermore, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 180°C. Wash, halve (lengthwise) and trim the peppers. Also, wash the potatoes and cut them into cubes (1-2 cm). Place the potatoes onto the baking sheet, add the garlic cloves and top them with the peppers (skin side down).
Stuff the peppers
Then, season with salt and place in the oven for 25 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove only the peppers from the oven. Arrange them on a cutting board and allow them to cool off. Using a spoon, stuff the peppers really generously and place them onto a new baking tray. Place it in the oven on the lower rack.
After 25 minutes are gone and the potato is tender, remove one-third of the potatoes and all of the garlic cloves from the sheet. Place them into a container, add the milk and salt and blend using an immersion blender. Once smooth, it is ready.
At this point, take the peppers out of the oven. Place the remaining potatoes back in the oven and turn on the grill. Grill for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown.
Finally, arrange the beef-oregano stuffed peppers onto the plates, add the potato cubes and a nice dollop of garlic-potato cream.
Enjoy.
