We’re pretty sure we could invent a stuffed pepper to fit our every mood—after all, they’re endlessly customizable with different combinations of meat, grains, veggies, and spices. For this twist on the Italian classic, we stir peppery Cajun spices into a deeply savory filling of pork sausage, jasmine rice, celery, and chicken stock. Once stuffed, the peppers receive a sprinkle of melty pepper jack and a drizzle of hot sauce crema. One bite’s sure to put a little PEP in your step.
Produced in a facility that processes eggs, milk, fish, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat.
½ cup
Jasmine Rice
2 unit
Bell Pepper
2.5 ounce
Celery
2 unit
Scallions
9 ounce
Italian Pork Sausage
1 tablespoon
Cajun Spice Blend
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
½ cup
Pepper Jack Cheese
(Contains Milk)
2 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains Milk)
1 teaspoon
Hot Sauce
Salt
Pepper
4 teaspoon
Vegetable Oil
1 teaspoon
Olive Oil
1 tablespoon
Butter
(Contains Milk)
• Adjust rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry all produce. • Melt 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add rice, ¾ cup water (1½ cups for 4), and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. • Keep covered off heat until ready to use in step 4. • Meanwhile, halve bell peppers lengthwise; remove stems and seeds.
• Place bell peppers on a baking sheet and drizzle each half with oil; rub to coat. Season with salt and pepper, then arrange cut sides down. • Roast on middle rack until browned and softened, 18-20 minutes. • Meanwhile, finely dice celery. Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens.
• Remove sausage* from casing; discard casing. • Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large, preferably ovenproof, pan over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned, 4-5 minutes. • Stir in celery and scallion whites; cook, stirring, until veggies are slightly softened and sausage is cooked through, 2-3 minutes. • Stir in half the Cajun Spice (all for 4 servings) and season with salt and pepper; cook until fragrant, 30-60 seconds more.
• Add stock concentrate and 1⁄3 cup water (½ cup for 4 servings) to pan with sausage mixture; simmer until slightly thickened, 1-2 minutes. • Add cooked rice; stir until thoroughly combined. Turn off heat. • Once bell peppers are done, remove from oven. Carefully flip and stuff each half with as much filling as will fit. • Place stuffed peppers in pan with remaining filling, nestling each into mixture. (TIP: If your pan isn’t ovenproof, transfer mixture to a small baking dish and arrange stuffed pepper halves in there.) Evenly sprinkle with pepper jack.
• Bake stuffed peppers on middle rack until cheese has melted, 3-4 minutes. • Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine sour cream with hot sauce to taste. Add water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency.
• Divide remaining filling between plates and top with stuffed peppers. Drizzle with hot sauce crema and garnish with scallion greens. Serve with any remaining hot sauce on the side.