Since abuela came back, we have discussed making gourmet meals. My mother had mentioned a few month ago that abuela used to make stuffed peppers, stuffed tomatoes and stuffed potatoes when my mother was younger. Abuela has made stuffed cabbages a few times for us, but I had never tried her stuffed peppers, tomatoes or potatoes. "It's been a really long time since I've made any of that. I'm not even sure I remember how," abuela said in spanish.
But I was determined to learn. I know how it is, if I don't watch, learn and record all of abuela's famous recipes, they could one day get lost. And this sounded like something I wanted to keep in the family for generations to come. So last night abuela and I discussed the necessary ingredients we needed to make the stuffed peppers and potatoes. She told me she was going to have someone coming over the house quickly around 10am today. So we woke up around 8:30 this morning and around 9am we headed to the supermarket. It's unbelievable how overpriced green and red bell peppers are. We needed about five and just two alone cost around three something.
The food came out delicious but since this was the first time in years that abuela has made this, there was a lot of trial and error going on. There are two things we learned from this. One if we decide to cook the peppers in the oven again we are going to leave it in there a lot longer. Our peppers were still a little too hard. It taste a lot better if you cook them until they are real soft. The other option is after stuffing them, next time we can cook them in a skillet over a medium flame. Honestly abuela said that would of been the best way to do it. The peppers would of definitely soften up quickly. Another thing we highly recommend is to sauté it in a tomato based sauce. We covered it in a white creamy sauce. It was good but I found the cream sauce too strong for this dish and the peppers don't look as pretty either. I'm really into how my food looks. So again just things to keep in mind for when you make this dish yourself. Also be aware that this is a pretty long process. We were cooking from 10:30am to almost 2:00pm.
Abuela's recipe for Stuffed peppers and stuffed potatoes
Ingredients:
-Close to 2 lbs of beef round cubes
-1/2 a lb of pork center cut chops/boneless and thin
-5 large bell peppers (we used three green and two red)
-5-6 large potatoes/peeled
-Adobo
-Oregano/grounded or dry and crushed
-2 gloves of garlic
-Cooking white wine
-Olive oil
-Vinegar
-Half an onion/chopped
-half a red pepper and half a green pepper/chopped
-tomato paste
-green olives/chopped
-1 boiled egg/chopped
-About 2 cups full of abuela's home-made Salsa Bechamel(recipe included in directions below)
-3-4 pieces of cilantro
-worchester sauce
Directions:
1.Take the beef round cubes and the pork cut chops and season them. Season them with a little bit of Goya Adobo. Then add a little bit of oregano and a cap full of vinegar. Pour a little bit of worchester sauce and a little bit of cooking white wine. Then take about two gloves of garlic and chopped them into very small and fine pieces. Add it to a mortar and pestle and crush the garlic until it gets minced.
Then add it to the meat. Place the beef and the pork together in a tupperware and let it sit in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes. You can also season the meat the night before to save time.
2. While the meat is marinating in the seasonings take about 5-6 large potatoes and wash and peel them.
3. Then fill a pot full of water and add the potatoes, let it boil on a low-medium flame until the potatoes are tender.
4. Then once the meat is seasoned take it out of the fridge. And in a large dutch oven pot add some olive oil. Once it sizzles add the meat. And wait for it to brown.
5. Once the meat begins to take in some color add some chopped onions and the chopped peppers you had aside.
6. Now take the 5 full large peppers and wash them and then let them dry.
7. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
8. Then cover the peppers in olive oil and add to an oven pot and let it sit in the oven for approximately 20-30 minutes.
9. Check the potatoes and once they are tender turn off the flame. Remove them from the water and let them sit and cool.
10. Get back to the meat and add about 2-3 pieces of cilantro.
11. Then add about a tablespoon of tomato paste and a little bit of water.
12. Chop up some green olives and chop up 1 boiled egg. Abuela boiled the egg the night before and had it in the fridge. Leave them to the side.
13. Now once the meat is cooked take out the meat grinder.
14. Once you finished grinding the meat add the chopped eggs and olives and stir it.
15. Now take the peppers and cut the top of the pepper where the stem is off and remove the seeds inside. But be careful to not throw out any of the tops because you are going to need it.
16. Then stuff the peppers with the meat and then cover them with the tops.
17. Take the potatoes and carefully slice them in half.
18. Then very carefully carve with a spoon the inside of the potato and then stuff the meat and take the other half to cover.
19. Then prepare the Salsa Bechamel.
20. Take a small sauce pot and add 2 cups of 1 percent low fat milk.
21. Then add two tablespoons of butter and 1 teaspoon of salt.
22. Then add 3 tablespoons of Maizena(corn starch)
23. Sprinkle a little bit of grated Parmesan cheese and let it simmer.
24. Once the sauce is hot and very thick and creamy, pour it over the peppers and the potatoes.
25. Then let it sit in the oven for about 20 minutes.
Enjoy!
