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Happy Thanksgiving! At this time of year, I want to say thank you. Your continued love and support allow me to do what I love and create small treasures that bring you joy and make you feel good. I appreciate you.
Every Thanksgiving I’m tasked with making a family favorite recipe passed down from my grandmother, Stuffed Hot Cherry Peppers. I'm sharing it with you this holiday season. They are the perfect bite to wet your appetite during antipasto or use as a side with your turkey. Since my grandmother cooked with feeling rather than recipes, I don't have exact measurements so feel free to add or subtract to my loosely interpreted recipe.
Let me know if you try it and how it came out! Enjoy!
Stuffed Hot Cherry Peppers
1 jar of hot or mild cherry peppers
2-3 eggs
3/4 to 1 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
splash of milk
mozzarella cut into sticks long enough to stick into the pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
chopped hard salami into sticks (omit for vegetarian version)
olive oil
lots of parsley
Pre-heat oven to 350
1) Use a paring knife to remove the stem from each pepper and remove seeds and veins. Create a cavity that is big enough to stuff. Soak them in water for 20 minutes to one hour. This will reduce the heat from the pepper. You can also use sweet cherry peppers.
2) After soaking, leave the peppers upside down in the colander to drain.
3) While the peppers are draining, cut the hard salami and mozzarella into sticks long enough to stick into the pepper standing up. (cut extra salami for yourself for munching :)
4) Make the filling: whisk eggs, add breadcrumbs, grated parmesan cheese, garlic salt, parsley, and splash of milk. Mix together. If filling is too dry, add more milk and a little olive oil. If it's too watery, add more breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. I always add to the mixture until the filling is a little liquid. If your filling is too dry it will bake into a hard filling. The filling should be moist when baked.
5) Coat a baking dish with olive oil. Line the empty peppers in the dish so they sit tightly against each other upright. Drizzle olive oil into the peppers and in around the dish.
6) Fill each pepper with the filling to the top. Top each pepper with 1-2 sticks of mozzarella cheese and 1 stick of salami.
7) Top with grated parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Check after 20 minutes if cheese is melted and peppers are cooked. Add 5 minutes at a time if you need more time for larger peppers.