Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers with Tuna, Kidney Beans and Sweet Corn

Categories : appetizers & savoury snacks, easy peasy, main dishes, pasta & rice, potatoes & vegetables, pulses & grains, Recipes, soups & salads

Colourful peppers stuffed with brown rice, tuna fish, kidney beans and sweet corn, baked in the oven till soft and juicy. A great way to enjoy this gorgeous vegetable. So easy, so simple and so tasty.

I love red and yellow peppers. I used to take them to the office as a snack and my colleagues would tease me about it. But I didn’t care, they were way tastier than an apple! And I’ve found out since, that they have three times as much vitamin C as oranges. Who’s laughing now? Haha ok, it wasn’t that bad.

Anyway, they are also delicious stuffed to the brim with yummy tex-mex inspired things like kidney beans, sweet corn and rice. I used a quick cooking brown rice and also added some tuna fish to the mix, because I wanted to make it as easy as possible. I originally thought of using minced meat but then decided against it. Browning meat in a pan that you have to wash later vs opening a can of healthy tuna? No-brainer.

Contrary to the way we do our stuffed peppers here in Greece, I cooked the rice beforehand. Again, easier than worrying about the correct amounts of liquid in the mixture. Here we always do them alongside tomatoes (you know, the famous gemista!) and the insides of the tomatoes are mixed with the raw rice, which gives lots of moisture and helps it cook. This is different. So the mixture won’t be wet, but it won’t dry out in the oven either.

The Tabasco I mention in the ingredients is so little that it hardly registers, so if you like a bit of a kick, go for more. If you like spicy food, go for even more than that.

The stuffed peppers make a great packed lunch by the way. Let’s see if your office mates tease you about these babies!

Ingredients

125 gr brown rice, cooked according to instructions (weighed raw)

6 large coloured peppers, red, yellow or orange

1 x 160gr tin tuna fish, drained

1/2 x 300gr tin sweet corn, drained

1/2 x 400gr tin kidney beans, drained

1/2 tsp + 6 pinches salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp sweet paprika

1/8 tsp cumin, ground

1/8 tsp coriander, ground

5 drops Tabasco (or more to taste)

1/4 tsp sugar

1/2 cup (120ml) passata (pureed/concentrated tomato, not paste)

50 gr cheddar cheese, grated

Step 1

Preheat oven to 160C fan assisted (180C conventional).

Step 2

While the rice is boiling, cut the tops of the peppers, reserving them as lids for later (each pepper should keep its own). Take out seeds and membranes, and add a pinch of salt to each. If they won’t stand up on their own, cut a bit of the largest bump at the bottom, so they level out.

Step 3

When the rice is ready put it in a large bowl and add the drained tuna, kidney beans, sweet corn, pepper, paprika, cumin, coriander, tabasco and sugar. Mix to combine and add the passata. Mix again.

Step 4

Fill the peppers with the mixture and stand them in a small baking dish, snugly if possible. Add the cheese to the top of the peppers and replace the “lids” so they are almost completely closed. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the peppers have softened and black spots start forming on their surface.

Note: The peppers will be fork tender but not completely soft. If you want them very soft put them in the baking dish before filling, cover with foil and bake for 10-15 minutes. Take them out of the oven, fill them and continue with the recipe.