Stuffed Peppers – Italian Style with Panko and Cheese
A Great Side Dish
The combination of breadcrumbs, Romano cheese, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, olives, herbs and spices are the makings for a delicious stuffing and a great side dish and crowd pleaser.
I have prepared this stuffing combination and used it in preparing baked tomatoes, mushrooms, and zucchini, to name a few. However, in this particular recipe, we are stuffing peppers – as a side dish. The sweet tenderness of the peppers and the crunch of the stuffing mixture makes for a great flavor combination, not to mention the Mediterranean flavors of olive oil, cheese, herbs and spices. If you’re fortunate to have peppers growing in your garden – great! If not, you can easily find some nice peppers in the the grocery store or at your local farmer’s market this season.
About the Ingredients
Peppers: As for peppers, I am using a variety of red, orange and yellow peppers here, but you can also use green. The red, orange and yellow are a sweeter variety. If you leave green peppers on the vine long enough, they will ripen and turn red. yellow and orange are different variety of peppers altogether.
In this recipe, using the natural lines on the peppers to cut them so that they are actually smaller than a half-cut and more like a quarter-cut pepper makes it so easy. Simply cut the top off, removing the stem and seeds. Next, cut the pepper following the natural lines.
Breadcrumbs: Panko. Gives the crunch texture. You can make your own or purchase them. you can also substitute regular breadcrumbs (I have). It works, but I prefer the Panko.
EVOO: Extra-Virgin Olive Oil. 1/3 of a cup should do here. It binds it all together. If the peppers look too dry, add a little more sprinkles toward the end of baking.
Cheese: Romano or Locatelli Romano for a ‘sharper’ flavor. Parmesan also works if that’s what you have on hand. I prefer the Locatelli Romano.
Parsley: Fresh. Italian flat-leaf.
Olives: Black Olives are used in this recipe. Other olives and a combination of are also very good to add a little ‘brine’ flavor.
Pine Nuts: Toasted. Always toasted. This brings out the oils and flavors of the pine nuts before adding into the stuffing.
Red Pepper Flakes: Just a few. More if you like it ‘hot’. Enhances the flavor.
Tools You Will Need
Ingredients You Will Need
- Peppers: Red, Orange, Yellow or Green
- Italian Seasoned Panko Bread Crumbs
- Locatelli Romano Cheese
- EVOO
- Pine Nuts
- Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley (fresh)
- Black Olives
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Garlic Cloves
- Salt & Black Pepper (just a pinch)
Italian-Style Panko Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 3 peppers red, orange, yellow or green red, orange and yellow pictured here, tops removed and sliced in quarters
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs or use your own
- 1/2 cup Locatelli Romano cheese Parmesan may be substituted
- 1/3 cup EVOO extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup pine nuts toasted
- handful Italian flat-leaf parsley chopped
- 12 black olives chopped
- few flakes red pepper flakes
- 3 garlic cloves minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash peppers and pat dry. Remove tops and seeds. Cut into quads. (refer to picture above)
- Place the peppers on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet and prepare the stuffing.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, grated cheese, chopped parsley, chopped olives, minced garlic, pepper flakes, pinches of salt & pepper and olive oil. The cheese has a lot of salt, so test for flavor. Combine well.
- After the stuffing is well-combines, stuff the peppers until all of the stuffing is used. Place the tray in the oven and bake for at least one hour until the peppers are tender and browned.
