Lamb and orzo stuffed peppers with feta cheese
A Mediterranean-inspired savory and colorful dish to serve to your family any night and one of my favorite ways to stuff peppers.
Ingredients
- 6 bell peppers (any and all colors you like)
- 1 pound of ground lamb
- 1 teaspoon of Sicilian sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of grapeseed, canola or vegetable oil
- 1 diced medium yellow onion
- 5 cloves of minced garlic
- 8 ounces of orzoExtra virgin olive oil
- 1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained
- 3/4 teaspoon of allspice, ground
- 1 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin
- 1 1/4 teaspoon of ground chili powder
- 1 cup of finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 cup of finely chopped fresh dill
- 1 cup of finely chopped fresh mint
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 8 ounces of of feta or halloumi cheese cut into diced pieces
Instructions
- Rinse the peppers, and slice them lengthwise (cooks more evenly and easier to stuff and eat), removing the seeds and white pith with a paring knife.
- Add the grapeseed (or canola/vegetable oil) to a large skillet over a high flame then add the garlic, onion and salt and sauté for about a minute. Then add the lamb and sauté for about 3-5 minutes, breaking up the meat into crumbles with a wooden spoon. Add the drained diced tomatoes and another 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Then turn off the heat.
- Boil the orzo in a separate salted pot of water. Undercook the orzo just about a minute less than al dente. When it is done, add 1/3 cup of the orzo water to the lamb skillet. Drain the orzo and return it to the pot it was previously in. Combine the lamb/tomato mixture into the pot with the orzo. Then add the spices: cumin, allspice, chili powder. Mix well.
- Preheat the oven to 450. Arrange the peppers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle or mist the peppers with the EVOO and sprinkle each with a pinch of salt. Bake for 20 minutes.
- While the peppers are roasting, chop the dill, mint and parsley and combine into the lamb/orzo mixture along with the feta (or halloumi) and lemon juice. Stir and add more salt to taste, and the black pepper.
- Remove peppers from oven and generously stuff each one with the lamb/orzo mixture. Drizzle or mist some olive oil on top of each one. If you have extra filling you can enjoy it by itself or refrigerate it and use it up to 3 days later to make more peppers!). Return the peppers to the oven and roast for another 15 minutes until they look a bit charred and the cheese is melty. For serving I like grate some Parmesan on top but that’s because I like it extra cheesy.
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @haveucoveredinthekitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #haveucoveredinthekitchen.
