Authentic Mexican
Recipe for Stuffed Pepper

I think the best recipe for stuffed pepper comes from south of the border. This delicious mexican dish is simple and can be served as a compliment to enchiladas, tamales or as an entire meal.

My friend Bill Moran has a wonderful cookbook full of mexican ranch kitchen recipes. His border picadillo is perfect as a stuffing for peppers.

Border Picadillo

Picadillo in Spanish means little pieces or bits. It is used as a stuffing for many dishes including Stuffed Chicken Breasts and this recipe for stuffed pepper. You can easily adjust this to your taste, I add some diced jalapeņo of course. This version of picadillo is popular along the Texas/Mexico border.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large potato, diced
3 tablespoons corn oil
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 can crushed tomatoes (15 oz.)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 quart chicken broth (or water)

Directions:
- Brown ground beef in a large pot (5-7 qt) using the corn oil. Add garlic, salt, pepper and cumin to the browned beef. Add diced potatoes, tomatoes chopped onion and pepper.
- Allow to simmer a few minutes then add the chicken broth. You may need to add a little more water to produce a stew-like mixture.
- Cook until potatoes are tender.

Now that you have a delicious stuffing you can proceed with this authentic mexican recipe for stuffed pepper.

Recipe for Stuffed Pepper

I like to make this recipe without coating the outside of the peppers, but if you prefer, you can roll the peppers in egg, coat with flour and deep fry after stuffing.

Here is how I do it. Take 6 poblano peppers and char the skin so that it is blackened all around. Place in a paper or plastic bag for about 10 minutes to allow the skins to loosen. Remove the blackened skin, slice open each pepper and remove seeds and stem. Now you are ready to stuff the peppers with your stuffing. Just spoon some of the picadillo mixture into each pepper, add some cheese and serve.

Don't forget to check out Bill Moran's website Texas-Chef.com, you will love his cookbooks!