Italian Feast: Turkey and Orzo Stuffed Bell Peppers on a Bed of Tasty Arugula

Here’s a little experiment inspired by a recent issue of La Cucina Italiana, which featured stuffed bell peppers on the cover.

As you can see, (here, alongside the wine of the evening) it does make quite an impression. The magazine’s recipe was actually a vegetarian version and in an out-of-character twist, I decided to make my stuffed peppers with meat. Oh, the insanity.

Turkey & Orzo Stuffed Bell Peppers
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (or whole plum tomatoes will work too)
1/3 pound ground turkey
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 cup dried orzo
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp dried oregano
salt & pepper
1 cup (or so) arugula leaves –(you could also use spinach
3 large bell peppers (yellow, orange and red) or 4 small medium-sized bell peppers, tops cut off, washed, and inside white rib part pulled off as much as possible
4 oz feta or goat cheese
olive oil
Optional: 4 tbsp balsamic glaze* for garnish and 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves to mix in with the arugula

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Start by sautéing the onion and garlic in a tablespoon or so of olive oil, over medium heat. Let cook about 5 minutes, until onions are softened and starting to color a little. Add the ground turkey, fennel seeds and oregano and cook until the turkey is browned and mostly done.

Next, add in the red wine and scrape any brown bits up with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Follow the wine with the canned tomato (if using canned whole tomatoes, break up a bit with your hands first) and Parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste and then stir in the orzo. Let simmer about 2-3 minutes and then remove from heat.

If peppers don’t stand up flat, trim a little off the bottom of each pepper so that it does. Scoop filling into each pepper to fill. Top with feta or goat cheese, then replace the pepper cap top.

Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a little kosher salt.

Bake in the oven for about 40-45 minutes, until peppers are soft and starting to brown nicely. Oh and you’ll probably have a little stuffing leftover. You can finish cooking the orzo through on the stove top and then bring that for a lunch with some crusty bread. It’s very good that way!

To serve, toss arugula and basil leaves and divide among plates. Place a baked pepper on top of the greens. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and sprinkle with a bit more Parmesan.

Coming up: Butternut squash and sage mac and cheese and Thanksgiving craziness! Hooray!

* You can buy balsamic glaze in a bottle at the store. You can also make your own. The choice is yours…