Tuna stuffed sweet peppers

With the unofficial start of summer next week, it’s almost barbecue season! In celebration, I’ve teamed up with several talented fellow bloggers to bring you 50 recipe ideas for a smashing summer party. I'm sharing with you my Tuna Stuffed Sweet Peppers and below you will find all the links for our #greatbloggerBBQ!

I didn't always have an appetite. To say the truth my mother and grandmother had a hard time trying to make me eat. And they did their best to always cook dishes that I enjoyed eating. This way I ended up eating plentiful of pasta and legumes, eggs in tomato sauce and tuna stuffed peppers, that they lovingly made for me.

So you can easily imagine why Tuna Stuffed Peppers, are a favorite of mine since childhood. They bring back loving memories and making them is a way of showing my culinary background to the people I love. When I first made tuna stuffed peppers for my husband, he was surprised, and doubtful, since he had always had ground meat stuffed peppers. I explained to him that since I never liked meat, my family had come up with this incredible substitute recipe. And they've become a winner at our place since then.

Growing up in my family, in Italy, meant we only ate seasonal produces, and since peppers (as well as eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and many other vegetables that my family grew in their garden) were on our tables only in the summer, I regularly relate peppers to summer.

These sweet, long, red peppers are particularly good when stuffed, they're sweeter and have a thinner and juicier skin than their counterparts. So every time we see them at our Farmer's Market, they end up in our bag.

Making these Tuna stuffed peppers is incredibly easy.

The filling is made of the best Italian canned tuna in olive oil together with some of my favorite flavors, flavors that are part of my Italian background: pecorino, parmigiano, capers, garlic, yellow grape tomatoes, herbs, breadcrumbs and bread soaked in milk.

I cut the pepper just enough to keep the stem intact and create a pocket for the stuffing and the fillet I took off the top ended up chopped in the stuffing. In the oven they take 20-25 minutes, but you can also make them on the BBQ, and enjoy the outdoor cooking. The result will make everybody happy.

The flavor of the tuna comes forth right away, followed shortly by the unique and distinct briny taste of the capers, combined with the bread and breadcrumbs, flavored with the herbs and garlic, the cheese, the tomatoes and the finale of each bite that sweet robust smoky flavor of the sweet red pepper.

If you really like the flavor of this stuffing, you can use bell peppers and stuff them to the max, lol.

Buon appetito and enjoy your summer BBQ!

Song of the day: "Daughter", Pearl Jam.

Tuna stuffed sweet peppers

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• Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

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• 2 sweet elongated red peppers
• 1 can tuna in olive oil (80 g)
• 1 Tbsp pecorino, grated
• 1 Tbsp parmigiano, grated
• 1 tsp salted capers, chopped
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1 small scallion, chopped
• 2 yellow grape tomatoes, chopped
• 1 Tbsp breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup bread soaked in milk
• few fresh leaves of basil, parsley, oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. Wash the peppers under running water, dry them, and without removing the stem cut a slice lengthwise and set aside.
3. In a small bowl roughly crumble with your hands the crumb of bread. Add some milk just to soften the bread and crumble it more.
4. In a large bowl, prepare the filling by mixing the tuna, the bread you have previously squeezed from the milk, basil, parsley, oregano, scallion, garlic and capers finely chopped. Then add the grated pecorino and parmigiano, a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper and the chopped tomatoes.
5. Add enough olive oil so the mixture is just enough moist and soft but still grainy.
6. Fill each pepper with the stuffing, but without pressing too much so that the filling remains soft. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and drizzle a little more olive oil.
7. Grease a baking dish and arrange the peppers.
8. Bake for about 25 minutes in the preheated oven.
9. Serve warm, but even cold they're awesome!

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 2 servings

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Fresh Watermelon Mojito by Twin Stripe
Mint Hibiscus Lemonade by The Little Epicurean
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Basil Gin Lemonade by Glisten and Grace

Entrées

Salt Plate Shrimp by The Mexitalian
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Peach Barbecue Sauce by The Beach House Kitchen
Tuna Stuffed Sweet Peppers by SugarLoveSpices
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Green Goddess Potato Salad by Love & Flour
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Zesty Potato Skewers by Pamela Salzman
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Desserts

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Lemon Cream Tarts with Berries by Girl Heart Food
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Cherry & Rhubarb Tart by Crepes of Wrath

Disclosure: All links in our posts are NOT affiliate links. They are only about products or places we normally purchase and like.  

Nicoletta

I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.