Tesco Recipe Card - Stuffed Sweet Mini Peppers

Tesco had a special offer their "Finest" Sweet Mini Peppers. Two packs for £3. I thought that was quite expensive so I dread to think what they'd cost at full price!

Inside was a card with a couple of recipes: "Sweet Mini Pepper Salad", "Stuffed Peppers" & "Sweet Pepper Tart".

I thought I'd make the Stuffed Peppers for lunch. One pack of peppers is supposed to serve 4 and they can be eaten hot or cold so I decided to make up both packs of mini peppers so that we could have some the next day for snacking.

I didn't actually have the correct ingredients so I substituted the Gruyere cheese for mature Cheddar and the chives for spring onions. And, being a cheese lover, I nearly always add more cheese than the recipe recommends.

My version turned out well, however Tesco are way off with their portion sizes - one pack of these minis stuffed peppers would never be enough for 4 people, unless you were serving them as a starter. One pack serves 2 people with a modest appetite.

Despite this, my interpretation turned out well and served with a dressed salad, made a nice light, vegetarian lunch.

Oh, and if you are wondering why my photos are a little bit different than usual it's because the lens has broken on my camera so I had to use my iPad.

Mezza's Stuffed Mini Peppers

2 x 220g boxes of Sweet Mini Peppers or 440g if you are able to get them loose
2 x medium sized potatoes, peeled, cooked and mashed with seasoning, a dash of milk and a knob of butter
100g mature Cheddar, grated
50g Parmesan, grated
2 x eggs, lightly beaten
3 x spring onions, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
Drizzle of light olive oil

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 356F / Gas Mark 4.
• Lightly grease an ovenproof dish. You need to be able to pack the peppers together to keep them standing upright. so I used a dish with a small surface area and high sides - my loaf tin was ideal.
• Using a small knife, cut the tops off the peppers and scrape out the seeds and the white section of the pepper. Keep the top with the bottom of the pepper.
• In a bowl, mix together the cheeses, mashed potatoes, eggs & spring onions. Season.
• Stuff this mixture into the peppers. A teaspoon is good for this.
• I overfilled my peppers and then popped the top on as I like it when mashed potato goes a little crispy on the top.
• Place all the peppers in your ovenproof dish, try to ensure they are all "standing up".
• Bake for 35 minutes in the oven until the flesh of the peppers starts to become soft and  browning slightly.

Lovely served with a mixed dressed salad... can also be eaten cold but I can't testify to that since there were none left over...