Capsicum halves stuffed with chicken, cheese and vegetables

Capsicum is the generic name for both the plant and the fruit of a wide variety of peppers although the term capsicum itself appears to be more popularly used only in certain regions. Elsewhere, capsicum is often referred to by variety such as cayenne, bell pepper and pimiento.

This is my second attempt at making stuffed capsicum (or bell peppers, if you prefer to call them that) and I finally did it right. The first time, I stuffed the peppers with raw ground meat mixed with raw vegetables. The juices from the meat and vegetables soaked the peppers during baking, making it very soggy. This time, I cooked the filling first, stirred in lots of grated Parmesan and stuffed the sticky gooey mixture into the cavities of the halved peppers. I baked them only long enough to brown the tops and to cook the bell peppers just until they were tender-crisp.

 Do red, yellow and green bell peppers taste differently from one another? I don’t know if it’s just my imagination but green bell peppers seem to be the most aromatic while the yellow ones seem to taste the sweetest. But whatever color of bell peppers you choose to stuff, they’ll taste great with this cheesy filling.

Serves 4.

Ingredients :

2 large (or 4 medium) bell peppers, halved lengthwise, seeds and veins removed
200 g. of ground chicken meat
1 onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely sliced
3/4 c. of frozen sweet peas, thawed
2 red pimientos, cored, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 c. of grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c. of fine bread crumbs
1 tbsp. of butter
salt
pepper

Melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan (you’ll need more butter or oil if using a regular pan). When hot, add the ground chicken and cook over high heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, celery, pimientos and peas. Season with salt and lots of freshly ground pepper. Stir and continue cooking for another two minutes.

Remove from the stove and cool for about 10 minutes. Cooling is faster if you transfer the mixture to a shallow bowl and stir it often.

After the chicken mixture has cooled, stir in the bread crumbs and cheese.

Fill the cavities of the bell peppers with the mixture, top with more parmesan cheese if you like, and bake in a preheated 180^oC oven for about 10 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned.

Serve with rice, pasta or bread.