Stuffed Cubanelle Peppers
Italian comfort food at its best, stuffed cubanelle (Italian frying) peppers are a classic all-in-one dish that are chock full of both flavor and memories. These peppers are stuffed with a garlicky mixture of ground beef, Pecorino, bread crumbs, parsley (think meatball) and topped with marinara and baked until tender and bubbly.
Ingredients
- 8 cubanelle peppers, tops and seeds removed
- 1 1/4 cups of seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 cup of grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 3 large cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley
- 2 1/4 cups of cooled marinara sauce, divided
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Remove caps and seeds from the peppers. Set the caps aside.
- In a sauté pan over low to medium heat, sauté the garlic in 2 tablespoons of EVOO until bronzed, adding a splash of water to prevent burning. Add chopped meat to the same pan until browned. Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl add the chopped meat, breadcrumbs, Locatelli, parsley, eggs, 1/4 cup of cooled marinara sauce, 1 tablespoon of EVOO, and salt and pepper to taste. The mixture should be moist. It will moisten as it sits.
- Mix with hands until fully incorporated.
- Sprinkle the inside of the peppers with a bit of salt. With a small spoon, stuff each of the peppers well from the bottom to the top, packing the mixture in. Be careful not to crack the pepper.
- Add EVOO to a large frying or sauté pan over medium heat, then add the peppers and caps until the peppers are blistering on all sides, rotating them as necessary.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Coat the bottom of a large oven safe 13 x 9 x 3 casserole dish with about 2 cups of marinara. Lay the peppers on top, closing them with their respective caps.
- Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the peppers are soft and fully cooked. Use a fork to pierce to check the peppers to see if they’re done.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with extra Locatelli cheese. Serve immediately.
