Baked Bell Peppers Stuffed with Seafood and Cheese
International dishesGrilled DishesItaly10 minutes
These baked bell peppers stuffed with seafood and cheese make a colorful starter, with a golden cheese top and a whole prawn sitting on each one. The prawn and squid filling is bound with roux, so it stays thick and rich instead of weeping in the oven.
The hardest part is keeping the peppers firm, as too long in the heat collapses them and draws out water. Onion and bell pepper are cooked first to take off their sharp edge before they join the filling. For the last five minutes only the top element runs, so the cheese browns while the peppers hold their shape.
This batch weighs about 932g, at roughly 88 calories per 100g.
Method
Peel half of the 200g of black tiger prawns and dice them, then peel the rest, leaving the tails on and the bodies whole. Cut 100g of squid into small pieces. Season the prawns and squid with 2 teaspoons of seasoning powder, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and 1/3 teaspoon of paprika.
Cut the bell peppers across, about 1cm below the stem, and dice one portion. Dice the onion. Chop the thyme.
Make the roux: toast 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour with 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter until the mixture dries out and the raw flour smell is gone.
Fry minced garlic until fragrant, add the diced onion and bell pepper and cook until fragrant, then tip it out to cool.
Fold the cooked vegetables into the prawns and squid, let it cool, then add 1 tablespoon of Lean Mayo, the roux and the thyme and mix well.
Spoon the filling into the pepper halves, set a whole prawn on each one and scatter 50g of mozzarella around the prawn.
Heat the oven to 180 degrees C and bake with both elements for 15 to 20 minutes, then run only the top element for another 5 minutes until the cheese is golden and fragrant.
Arrange them on a plate, finish with Lean Mayo, ketchup and a sprig of thyme, and serve hot.
Tips
Cooking the onion and bell pepper before they go into the filling takes off their sharp edge.
Five minutes under the top element browns the cheese while the peppers stay firm.
Supermarket sweet basil leaves work in place of thyme.
Lean Mayo is lighter, so the roux is what keeps the filling thick and stops it weeping.
The filling has to be completely cool before the Lean Mayo goes in, since mixing it hot splits the sauce.
Choose small peppers with thick walls, as large thin ones slump in the oven.
Need kOBE Lean Mayo?
The recipe above uses kOBE Lean Mayo for the richness. See the product page or send us a message.