Red Ruffled Pimento

[Suze]

Thanks for the seeds, Grubs -- I'm really enjoying this one. Sweet and productive. Would be excellent as a stuffer, but I haven't gotten around to trying that yet.


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[Grub]

Hi Suze,

I'm glad they came true and no bagging here and the peppers are usually close, but I went with the first-fruit-saved tactic.

It was my best quasi or semi bell-type, being not quite as big, but it was great and prolific and sweet. Better than Red Cheese, which is smooth and smaller.

We used it for fresh eating, pastas and salads, but, yep, also stuffing...

Our basic combo went something like this: half lean lamb or beef mince to rice, wetted with some tomato passata and tomato paste, add chopped (or dried) mint and parsely, some grated onion and garlic, a pinch of allspice, S&P... mix and stuff and bake in tray, with some (low salt) half strength stock on the bottom, covered with foil on moderate oven for an hour, then uncover and baste and cook till you get a little colour on the peppers.

A meal in one! And any leftover are even better the next day... mmm. Bring 'em on. Stuffed peppers.

[Suze]

Well, whaddya know -- I was just in the process of making a shopping list. Sounds like a great general recipe to work with, Grubs, and I've now got about 7-8 of those beauties on the counter. So, stuffed peppers it is, tonight or tomorrow.

[Suze]

I made some stuffed peppers today, and they were excellent.

Used up all the Ruffled Red and even the two Golden Marconi that were on the counter.

The stuffing was pre-browned/drained ground chuck, some cooked rice, sauted onion and garlic, and some tomatoes that I cooked down into a sort of chunky passata last night. A little parsley, and some s&p. Then, I mixed all that up in a bowl. Added a couple of inches of chicken broth to the baking pan, and used a big spoon to baste the peppers halfway through. I also blanched the peppers before stuffing for about five minutes. Baked at 350 deg F at about 45 minutes, might take longer if peppers aren't blanched. Was planning to add some grated cheddar on top, but I decided it wasn't necessary and might overwhelm the other flavors too much.

Leftovers for tomorrow:


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[Grub]

Yummo... they look great Suze.
I'm drooling. Can't think of anything better.
Red ruffled x 2 have survived winter. I hope they produce.

[maryinoregon]

Thank you for the pimento ideas. A kind Tomatovillian sent me some seeds simply labeled pimento, and I had no idea what to do with them. I have heard of pimentos, but never eaten one that I recall.

None of my bells are producing anything this year, but the pimentos are.

[Earl]

Mary, make some pimento cheese out of them. Blister the skin on a grill or under broiler, remove skin and seeds, then find a good pimento cheese recipe. Makes a great sandwich.

[maryinoregon]

Hi Earl. I've been reading up on pimento cheese. I had never heard of it until you posted this. I now know that it's a very southern thing, although I did read some interesting posts from a guy in Hungary and another in the Philippines talking about the popularity of pimento cheese in both places.

[montanamato]

Suze...I think the peppers look great...but what really gets me is that plate...I think it would go great in my kitchen....I am only getting Alma Paprika's in loads big enough to stuff...Seems I shorted myself on pimento types and over planted the frying types...

Jeanne

[Suze]

Jeanne, thanks -- I love my dishes (Retroneu Stoneware, Fusion Rust 1356). Took me awhile to find just what I wanted. I'm not into overly ornate or trendy stuff, and I like things that are well-made. These are thick and sturdy. The cups also matter for me; a lot of the other dishes I liked appearance-wise had little cups or they just didn't seem comfortable to hold.

I've only had them for about 4-5 months, so you may still be able to find them somewhere. I got these at Garden Ridge, and they were open stock. They were also reasonably priced. A google search turns up a bunch of links that all pretty much end up at eBay (or are a dead end).

Here's a picture (the link may not be valid for long):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ayphotohosting

I don't think that's a very good picture of what they actually look like, though. It really doesn't capture the iridescence or the colors well. So, I'll attach a couple of my own.

[montanamato]

Thanks for the info Suze...Last child is getting old enough that I may brave a new set soon...Great looking plus sturdy is what I am looking for.

Jeanne

[spyfferoni]

I've never grown any pimento type peppers, but I'm going to try some for next year now! Those stuffed peppers look so good!

Tyffanie