How to Make Spanish Stuffed Peppers: Elizabeth Marsh Boyer

engl 3930 > staging server > how to > stuffed peppers

How to Make Spanish Stuffed Peppers

by Elizabeth Marsh Boyer

This is a recipe that I enjoyed many times while attending school in Madrid. It is a simplified version of a stuffed pepper recipe common in Northern Spain where my host mother, Ramona, grew up. I still marvel at how lucky I was to be placed with such a wonderful host mother. She treated my roommate and I like we were her own daughters. She also cooked for us like she was cooking for an army!

We began each meal with a traditional Spanish salad: crisp greens and ripe tomatoes bathed in olive oil and vinegar, and a fresh loaf of Spanish baguette bread. A full carafe of wine and another of ice-cold water were also on the table for every meal. One of Ramona's outstanding entrees soon followed the salad. This recipe for stuffed peppers was my personal favorite. Ramona taught me how to make it on one of the last nights I stayed with her. I scribbled the directions down as I followed her around the kitchen that night.

The Recipe

There are four steps in making the stuffed peppers: 1) making the filling 2) preparing the peppers 3) making the sauce 4) cooking the peppers.

Ingredients

4 large evenly shaped green bell peppers
1 lb lean ground beef
1 7 oz round of Hollandammer brand maasdam cheese, cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
4-5 8 oz cans of plain tomato sauce
2-21/2 cups of water
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon of salt
Cooked rice (saffron may be added, if available)

1) Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, deep skillet with a cover. (An electric fry pan also works well) Add the ground beef and brown. Drain and return to the pan. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the salt, the garlic, and one can of tomato sauce. Stir well and cook for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Remove from pan and set aside.

2) Carefully cut a circle around the stem of each pepper to make a removable "lid". Gently clean out the inside of the peppers with a spoon, then rinse with water, making sure to remove all seeds. Stuff each pepper with alternating layers of the beef mixture and the cheese. Replace the top and, if necessary, secure with toothpicks.

3) In the same pan in which you cooked the beef mixture, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 cans tomato sauce and 1 1/2 cups of the water. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil.

4) Place the peppers in the boiling sauce and cover tightly. The peppers will become tender as they steam. About every five minutes, stir the sauce around the peppers. Add more tomato sauce and/or water as necessary to maintain your desired consistency . Cook for 20 to 30 minutes at a medium high to high temperature.

Serve with the sauce drizzled over the peppers and the rice. A green salad and fresh bread complete this authentic Spanish meal. Enjoy!

More About Spanish Cuisine

Spaniards are well known for their love of food and drink. And they certainly have good reason to be! Spanish cuisine is truly a unique combination of flavors and ingredients. Because of the nation's diverse history, culture and geography, there is really no common cuisine shared by the whole country.

There are, however, a few key ingredients in most traditional Spanish dishes. The arid climate of central Spain produces the olives that have made Spanish olive oil famous. This area also produces the saffron commonly associated with Spanish cooking, specifically Spanish rice. Saffron is the most expensive spice on earth, more expensive by weight than gold! Of course, since the country is surrounded by water on three sides, seafood is also found in many traditional dishes.

Links

Sally's Place This site has good background info on Spanish history and cuisine, as well as a glossary of cooking terms
Recipes This site has several good recipes, more history, samples of Spanish music and more links
Spain's Tourism Office This is a page from the official site with many authentic Spanish recipes

Helpful Hints

It has been difficult to find a similar type of cheese as Ramona used. I just recently found the type of cheese that I include in this ingredient list in a semi-gourmet section of a local deli. If you can't find it or a similar soft European cheese, try shredded Velveeta. I won't deny that it definitely lends a more American flavor, but it seems to melt in a similar way to the more desirable cheese. So you will at least end up with a similar texture!

I have modified the recipe slightly in the years since I learned it. My roommate was a vegetarian and I am not, so Ramona would stuff two peppers with only cheese and two with only meat. But I have since found that I prefer the combination of the two fillings. Experiment!

engl 3930 > staging server > how to > stuffed peppers

copyright © 2001 Elizabeth Marsh Boyer
questions and comments to: lizzy@paulbunyan.net
last modified Feb 2001

engl 3930 > staging server > how to > stuffed peppers
How to Make Spanish Stuffed Peppers by Elizabeth Marsh Boyer This is a recipe that I enjoyed many times while attending school in Madrid. It is a simplified version of a stuffed pepper recipe common in Northern Spain where my host mother, Ramona, grew up. I still marvel at how lucky I was to be placed with such a wonderful host mother. She treated my roommate and I like we were her own daughters. She also cooked for us like she was cooking for an army! We began each meal with a traditional Spanish salad: crisp greens and ripe tomatoes bathed in olive oil and vinegar, and a fresh loaf of Spanish baguette bread. A full carafe of wine and another of ice-cold water were also on the table for every meal. One of Ramona's outstanding entrees soon followed the salad. This recipe for stuffed peppers was my personal favorite. Ramona taught me how to make it on one of the last nights I stayed with her. I scribbled the directions down as I followed her around the kitchen that night. The Recipe There are four steps in making the stuffed peppers: 1) making the filling 2) preparing the peppers 3) making the sauce 4) cooking the peppers. Ingredients 4 large evenly shaped green bell peppers 1 lb lean ground beef 1 7 oz round of Hollandammer brand maasdam cheese, cubed 2 cloves garlic, minced 4-5 8 oz cans of plain tomato sauce 2-21/2 cups of water 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil 1/8 teaspoon of salt Cooked rice (saffron may be added, if available) 1) Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, deep skillet with a cover. (An electric fry pan also works well) Add the ground beef and brown. Drain and return to the pan. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the salt, the garlic, and one can of tomato sauce. Stir well and cook for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Remove from pan and set aside. 2) Carefully cut a circle around the stem of each pepper to make a removable "lid". Gently clean out the inside of the peppers with a spoon, then rinse with water, making sure to remove all seeds. Stuff each pepper with alternating layers of the beef mixture and the cheese. Replace the top and, if necessary, secure with toothpicks. 3) In the same pan in which you cooked the beef mixture, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 cans tomato sauce and 1 1/2 cups of the water. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil. 4) Place the peppers in the boiling sauce and cover tightly. The peppers will become tender as they steam. About every five minutes, stir the sauce around the peppers. Add more tomato sauce and/or water as necessary to maintain your desired consistency . Cook for 20 to 30 minutes at a medium high to high temperature. Serve with the sauce drizzled over the peppers and the rice. A green salad and fresh bread complete this authentic Spanish meal. Enjoy!	More About Spanish Cuisine Spaniards are well known for their love of food and drink. And they certainly have good reason to be! Spanish cuisine is truly a unique combination of flavors and ingredients. Because of the nation's diverse history, culture and geography, there is really no common cuisine shared by the whole country. There are, however, a few key ingredients in most traditional Spanish dishes. The arid climate of central Spain produces the olives that have made Spanish olive oil famous. This area also produces the saffron commonly associated with Spanish cooking, specifically Spanish rice. Saffron is the most expensive spice on earth, more expensive by weight than gold! Of course, since the country is surrounded by water on three sides, seafood is also found in many traditional dishes. Links Sally's Place This site has good background info on Spanish history and cuisine, as well as a glossary of cooking terms Recipes This site has several good recipes, more history, samples of Spanish music and more links Spain's Tourism Office This is a page from the official site with many authentic Spanish recipes Helpful Hints It has been difficult to find a similar type of cheese as Ramona used. I just recently found the type of cheese that I include in this ingredient list in a semi-gourmet section of a local deli. If you can't find it or a similar soft European cheese, try shredded Velveeta. I won't deny that it definitely lends a more American flavor, but it seems to melt in a similar way to the more desirable cheese. So you will at least end up with a similar texture! I have modified the recipe slightly in the years since I learned it. My roommate was a vegetarian and I am not, so Ramona would stuff two peppers with only cheese and two with only meat. But I have since found that I prefer the combination of the two fillings. Experiment!
engl 3930 > staging server > how to > stuffed peppers
copyright © 2001 Elizabeth Marsh Boyer questions and comments to: lizzy@paulbunyan.net last modified Feb 2001