Food

Tuna stuffed sweet peppers

Name: Tuna stuffed sweet peppers
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 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; 1/4 cup bread soaked in milk; few fresh leaves of basil, parsley, oregano; salt and pepper to taste; 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Nicoletta May 25, 2016

Jump To Recipe

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

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

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
1/4 cup bread soaked in milk
few fresh leaves of basil, parsley, oregano
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Wash the peppers under running water, dry them, and without removing the stem cut a slice lengthwise and set aside.
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.
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.
Add enough olive oil so the mixture is just enough moist and soft but still grainy.
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.
Grease a baking dish and arrange the peppers.
Bake for about 25 minutes in the preheated oven.
Serve warm, but even cold they’re awesome!

Nutrition

Serving Size: 2 servings

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#Great Blogger BBQ:

Appetizers

Korean BBQ Tofu Sliders with Kimchi Slaw by Hello Little Home
Corn, Black Bean, and Feta Dip by Lizzy is Dizzy
Crab, Bacon & Guacamole Crostinis by That Square Plate

Cocktails and Drinks

Blackberry Gin Slush by The Speckled Palate
Homemade Lemonade by Winstead Wandering
Blood Orange Mocktail by Body Rebooted
Fleur Collins Cocktail by Hungry Girl por Vida
Fourth of July Sparkler by Mixplorology
Black Stripe Cold Rum Cocktail by Honey and Birch
Fresh Watermelon Mojito by Twin Stripe
Mint Hibiscus Lemonade by The Little Epicurean
Wine Slushy by Living Well Kitchen
Basil Gin Lemonade by Glisten and Grace

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

baked bbq bread capers extra virgin olive oil garlic herbs mediterranean parmigiano reggiano red peppers tuna vegetarian

Nicoletta

I love reading, painting watercolors, laughing with my husband, watching the sunset, smelling the flowers.

10 Comments

Reply annie@ciaochowbambina May 25, 2016 at 8:45 am

I can imagine the aroma of your kitchen while these beauties are baking! You have all my favorite flavors in here! So summery and wonderful, my friend! Pinned!

Reply Nicoletta May 25, 2016 at 8:53 am
Thanks Annie, the smell is incredible indeed! And they’re super flavorful, too. Always happy when you stop by 🙂 .

Reply Kelsey @ Appeasing a Food Geek May 25, 2016 at 2:26 pm

I am a sucker for all things tuna, so this recipe is definitely right up my alley! Loooovvvee! 🙂 Happy #greatbloggerBBQ!

Reply Nicoletta May 25, 2016 at 5:37 pm
Thank you Kelsey, this is such a flavorful version of stuffed peppers! Hope you try it! Happy #greatbloggerBBQ!

Reply karrie @ Tasty Ever After May 26, 2016 at 3:01 pm

Loving that you used the long sweet peppers for this Nicoletta! So gorgeous. Can’t wait to try it soon and I’ll be sure to have some leftovers so I can eat them cold 🙂

Reply Nicoletta May 26, 2016 at 4:09 pm
Yes, Karrie, these long sweet peppers are sooo good when stuffed! Hope you like them (even cold) if you try 😉 . Thanks so much for stopping by!

Reply Meaghan May 29, 2016 at 12:26 pm

Loving this recipe!! We eat long sweet peppers stuffed with cheese and basil as a BBQ side dish all summer. I picked up some long peppers at the market this weekend and can not wait to try this week 🙂 Do you always bake in the oven or have you prepared on the BBQ? Also the 1/4 cup of bread soaked in milk was that fresh bread crust? Thanks!

Reply Nicoletta May 29, 2016 at 4:30 pm
Thank you! This is such a tasty dish you’re going to love it, Meaghan! The 1/4 cup bread is a day or 2 days old bread, crust and inside too. I’ve only made them in the oven but if you want to cook them on the BBQ you have to stuff them and then cook them on indirect heat to prevent them from burning.

Reply Scott Groth August 28, 2016 at 5:29 pm

Wow! Tuna stuffed peppers are something I’ve never thought of, but they combine two of my favorite things. Definitely have to try these!

Reply Nicoletta August 29, 2016 at 9:35 am
Hey Scott, thanks for stopping by! These are our favorite stuffed peppers. I’ve never had peppers stuffed with anything else than tuna, but my husband that had meat stuffed ones, loves my version way better 🙂 . Hope you try them, they are incredibly flavorful!