STUFFED PEPPERS with RICE, RAISINS and PINE NUTS

Welcome to the first Monday of this month of May. Today I chose to make stuffed peppers from a recipe to be found on Martha Stewart's website. It's a recipe that was contributed by Mrs Kostyra, who was Martha's mother, and I thought it would be a timely choice since mother's day is so close.

A mixture of rice, raisins and pine nuts may sound strange to some, but it's a popular combination of ingredients in almost all the cuisines of the Mediterranean and the Middle East.  I think this recipe makes a nice "ushering of spring" meal. The colourful peppers and vegetables look as good as they taste. The only drawback for me was that I didn't have time to go to my grocer, so I purchased the peppers at my local supermarket. I didn't check the price, but I found out during checkout that they cost $4.70 per pound. I wound up paying close to $19.00 for 6 peppers. Way too much.  Oops! 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 5 small tomatoes, cored, seeded, and sliced about 1/2 inch thick 
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from 2 oranges)
• 6 nice sized bell peppers, some yellow or orange and some red 
• 1 Italian frying pepper (also called Cubano), cored, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 2 cups vegetable broth or water, plus another 4 tablespoons broth or water. 
• 1 cup rice (uncooked)
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 scallions, white and soft green parts, chopped
• 3 medium shallots, finely chopped
• 4 sprigs of fresh thyme, plus 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley plus 6 sprigs

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Spread the pine nuts in a single layer on a small baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 6 minutes. Shake the pan halfway through baking to make sure the pine nuts toast evenly.
• Line up the tomato slices on the bottom of a baking pan that's going to be just large enough to hold the 6 peppers. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper, sprinkle a little olive oil on top, and place a piece of thyme sprig on each slice.
• Combine the raisins and orange juice in a small bowl. Let stand until the raisins are plumped, about 15 minutes.
• Using a sharp knife, cut around the stems of the peppers. Core and seed them, reserving the stems. Set aside.
• In a saucepan, bring the broth or water to a boil. Add the rice, and simmer, covered, until the rice is just a little undercooked, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the scallions, chopped pepper and shallots, and cook until the shallots are translucent, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

The combination of basil, raisins and orange juice gives the stuffing an incredibly delicious flavour.

• Stir in the chopped tomatoes and the raisins with their orange juice.  Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the thyme leaves, basil, parsley and pine nuts, stirring to combine. Stir in the cooked rice.
• Fill each pepper with one-sixth of the rice mixture. Cap each pepper with the reserved pepper stems.
• Fit the peppers into the baking dish on top of the tomatoes, and place the parsley sprigs between them. Pour 4 tablespoons of water over the peppers and sprinkle them with the remaining olive oil.
• Cover with parchment paper-lined aluminium foil, and bake for one hour.
• Uncover, and continue to bake until the peppers are tender and the rice is heated through, about 30 minutes longer.
• The peppers will be done when they appear shrivelled up; That's when they get really tender: their skin can literally be peeled off. Make sure there's always liquid left in the bottom of the pan; this way the peppers and the rice will stay moist throughout the baking process.

 Serve and enjoy!