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Fried Small Peppers Filled With Feta and Quinoa

5.0(70)

The starting off point for this recipe is a classic Balkan cheese-stuffed pepper dish that I enjoyed frequently over the course of a long ago summer spent in Croatia. The peppers that are traditionally used for this are small, thin-skinned green peppers that taper to a single tip. These aren’t easy to find locally, but I have recently found “baby bell peppers” that are the perfect size for this. I also make these stuffed peppers with Anaheims, which are spicy. The authentic filling is made with feta, herbs and egg only, but I decided to introduce some quinoa or bulgur to stretch the filling and make the peppers more substantial.

by Martha Rose Shulman

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Eastern EuropeanAppetizer, Side Dish

Servings

8 servings as an hors d’oeuvre or 4 as a side dish

Total time

30 min

Calories / serving

126 kcal

Ingredients (8)

serves

8 small sweet peppers, either baby bell or Italian peppers, about 1 poundbell-pepper
1 egg yolkegg
3 ounces feta, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)feta
1/2 cup cooked quinoa or bulgurbulgur
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley or mintmint
Freshly ground pepperpepper
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flourunbleached-all-purpose-flour
2 to 3 tablespoons sunflower or grapeseed oil, as neededoil

Instructions (4 steps)

01Roast the peppers over a flame or under the broiler until charred. Place in a bowl, cover tightly and allow to cool. Remove the skins and wipe the surface with paper towels.
02With the tip of a paring knife, make a lengthwise slit down the middle of each pepper and carefully pull out the seeds and membranes and remove the stems and seed pods at the top. Open the peppers up on your work surface.
03In a medium bowl beat together the egg yolk and the feta until amalgamated. Add the quinoa or the bulgur and the chopped herbs and stir together. Season with pepper (there’s plenty of salt in the feta). Place a spoonful of filling down the middle of each pepper and fold the sides in over the filling, overlapping the edges.