Mediterranean Lamb Stuffed Peppers and Guest Blogger Jessics Hose@ Oh Cake!

Good Morning! While I am taking time off, due to my Father's health, I am having  a couple of wonderful guest bloggers to take over my kitchen. I would like to introduce you to Jessica@Oh Cake!.  I met Jessica when I joined the Love Blog Hop.  She is also the brainchild of The Food Bloggers Network, which is a group where bloggers can focus on professional development and networking . I belong to this group, and have learned a lot.  Besides being a talented writer, Jessica can also bake and cook.  Jessica's Molten Lava Cake with Raspberry Lava and Lamb stuffed phyllo packets are just a few of her sweet and savory offerings. Now, Here is Jessica!

 Hello! I’m Jessica from  Oh Cake! and I’m very pleased to be guest posting for Becky today. Becky has so many wonderful treats on her page (the Irish Cream brownies are one of my favorites!) that it is an honor to be asked to write a post for her blog. It was a struggle, however, to try to decide whether to bake or cook (Becky and I have that in common…) and so in the end I decided to do a savory baked dish: Mediterranean Lamb Stuffed Peppers.

Stuffed peppers are a truly international dish. Whether they are stuffed with fresh cheese and batter fried as in Mexico, or stuffed with potatoes seasoned with tantalizing spices such as in India, you can be sure that wherever peppers are grown someone is stuffing them and serving them as a meal. For my version I like to take my inspiration from the Mediterranean, and Greece in particular, by using lamb, Kalamata olives and feta cheese.

My husband Thom and I love lamb but unfortunately it’s rather expensive. By using ground lamb we get the full flavor of rich, savory lamb without the specialty butcher price tag. The filling for the peppers may be made a day or even two days ahead of time which will allow the flavors to marry and develop before baking and serving.

Mediterranean Lamb Stuffed Peppers ~ serves 4

4 large sweet red or green peppers

1/2lb ground lamb

1/2 cup brown rice, dry

1 cup frozen spinach, thawed & drained

1 cup onion, finely diced

1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 teaspoon oregano

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Cook rice according to directions and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and warm through. Add minced onion and sauté until translucent. Add lamb and begin to brown. Add spinach, oregano and garlic. Cook lamb thoroughly.

Remove from heat and stir in cooked rice, olives and feta cheese. Combine well and adjust salt & pepper to taste. Set aside to prep peppers or store in refrigerator overnight.

Preheat oven to 400º F.

To prep the peppers slice the top off as thinly as possible, like this:

Take a paring knife and run it around the inside of the pepper to remove the core and seeds. Reserve tops of peppers but discard the seeds.

Pack pepper three-quarters full of filling and set in a roasting pan. In order to keep the filling inside the pepper during cooking I crumple up a piece of aluminum foil and rest the pepper on it at an angle. This helps to keep the filling from falling out as the pepper softens during cooking. 

Bake 30-40 minutes or until peppers are soft. You may wish to gently rotate the peppers halfway through cooking to ensure even cooking on all sides. You can gently life the peppers with tongs to do this.

I like to serve my peppers with a Greek inspired side salad. I finely chop the reserved pepper tops and combine with lettuce, cucumber, feta and olives to serve alongside the finished peppers. Add some baklava for dessert and you’ll really feel like you brought a little piece of Greece home with you!

Enjoy! You can follow  Jessica on Oh Cake!, Facebook or Pinterest!