Potato-Stuffed Green Peppers

Most stuffed pepper recipes lean on ground meat or rice for the filling. This one goes with mashed potatoes, and it works beautifully. The creamy, seasoned potato filling holds its shape inside the parboiled green pepper shells, and the tomato sauce pooled around the base soaks into everything during baking.

Parboiling the peppers for five minutes before stuffing is what keeps them from being crunchy and raw after only 25 minutes in the oven. You want them just softened enough to bend without cracking, not fully cooked. Drain them upside down so the water runs out completely. Trapped water inside a stuffed pepper steams the filling and makes it watery.

The sauteed onions and diced red pepper mixed into the potatoes add sweetness and texture to what would otherwise be a plain filling. Chives bring a mild onion flavor that ties everything together.

Baking covered first steams the peppers to tenderness, then uncovering for the last five minutes lets the tops of the potato filling dry out slightly and form a light crust.

Kitchen Tips

• Choose peppers that stand upright on their own. Wobbly peppers tip over in the baking dish and spill their filling.
• If the peppers won’t stand, slice a thin piece off the bottom to create a flat base. Don’t cut through to the inside.
• Use leftover mashed potatoes if you have them. This is an excellent way to repurpose day-old potatoes with more flavor.
• The tomato sauce should come about a third of the way up the peppers. Too much and they float; too little and the bottoms dry out.

Variations

• Add crumbled cooked sausage or bacon to the potato filling for a heartier, non-vegetarian version.
• Stir in shredded cheddar or Parmesan to the mashed potatoes before stuffing for a cheesy filling.
• Use a mix of red, yellow, and green peppers for a more colorful presentation.