Peperoni Ripieni are won or lost before the peppers go in the oven. Season the shells, give the filling room to stay loose, and manage the moisture so the tops brown before the bases collapse.
This version uses a southern filling of rice, breadcrumbs, ground meat, tomato, parsley, and cheese. For a meatless version, replace the meat with more rice and chopped olives, then bake the same way.
Set servings and units first. You can change them anytime.
Heat the oven to 400 F. Halve the peppers through the stems and remove the seeds. Season the cavities with salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Set the peppers cut side up in a baking dish and roast for 12 minutes. Pour off any liquid that gathers in the shells.
Brown the ground meat in a small skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil, breaking it into small pieces. Let it cool for 5 minutes.
Mix the rice, browned meat, breadcrumbs, tomato passata, cheese, egg, garlic, parsley, salt, and black pepper. The filling should be moist and loose, not packed tight.
Spoon the filling into the peppers without pressing hard. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil.
Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tops are browned and the pepper walls are tender. If the tops darken too fast, cover loosely with foil.
Rest 10 minutes before serving. For the meatless option, replace the meat with 5 oz extra cooked rice and 2 oz chopped olives.
You made Peperoni Ripieni. Time to eat.
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Pre-roasting and draining the pepper shells prevents the filling from steaming in a pool of liquid.
Six Italian regions. Nothing reformulated. Imported direct.
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