PEPPERS AND THEIR PREPARATION
68. PEPPERS are one of the fruit vegetables. Some varieties of them are dried and used as a condiment, that is, to season or give relish to food, but as they are never used as a vegetable, they are not included here. It is the sweet varieties of peppers which are used as vegetables and to which reference is made in these discussions. They are valuable chiefly for two reasons: to flavor various kinds of dishes, such as entrées, salads, etc., and to make a dish more attractive in appearance because of the contrast in color they afford. In food value, they are about equal to the various greens, but as a rule such small quantities of them are eaten that they cannot be regarded as a food.
69. STUFFED PEPPERS.--The usual way of preparing peppers as a vegetable is to stuff them and then bake them, when they will appear as in Fig. 14. The stuffing may be made of various kinds of material, such as pieces of meat, vegetables, cereals, etc., and so affords an excellent way to utilize left-overs of any of these foods. Two recipes for stuffing are here given, and either one may be used with equally good results.
To prepare peppers for stuffing, wash them in cold water and remove the tops by cutting around the peppers a short distance from the stem. Remove the pulp and seeds from the inside, and wash the peppers thoroughly to make sure that no loose seeds remain. Fill with the desired stuffing, place in a shallow pan with a small amount of water, and bake until the peppers are soft enough to be pierced with a fork. The water permits the peppers to steam during the first part of the cooking. Serve hot.
STUFFING NO. 1
(
Sufficient for Six Peppers
)
- 2 Tb. ham fat
- 1 small chopped onion
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- Dash of pepper
- 1-1/2 c. steamed rice
- 1/2 c. bread crumbs
- 1/2 c. finely chopped boiled ham
- Milk
Melt the fat in a frying pan, add the onion, salt, and pepper, and heat together for several minutes. Add the rice, bread crumbs, and ham, and moisten with milk until the mixture is of the right consistency. Use to fill the peppers.
STUFFING NO. 2
(
Sufficient for Six Peppers
)
- 2 Tb. butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- Dash of pepper
- 2 c. stale bread crumbs
- 2 Tb. chopped parsley
- 1 tsp. celery salt
- Milk
Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the chopped onion, salt, and pepper, and heat together. To this add the bread crumbs, chopped parsley, and celery salt, and moisten with enough milk to make the stuffing of the right consistency. Use to stuff peppers.