Stuffed Peppers, Stovetop Clafouti, Penne Campania, NoEgg Nog

 They say --  that's the infamous "they" -- that one of the food trends for 2021 is going to be "comfort foods".  Frankly, that's a lot of what I'm been making these last 9 months of Covid!  Anyway, here's my first entry for Comfort Food Of The Year 2021 -- 

Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed Peppers are really a technique, more than a recipe.  Everyone has their own take on them.  For years I made the rice-tomato-ground beef version.  Then I experimented with other grains beside rice -- barley, faro, bulgur wheat, even quinoa.   Now that I'm mostly pescatarian/vegetarian, I've eliminated the meat element entirely, and come up with this version.

                          

How many peppers?  That's up to you.  I made 4.  Quantities of ingredients are vary also, depending on the number and size of peppers you're trying to fill.  Don't worry -- there's no such thing as too much stuffing!

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Cut the tops off your peppers and remove the white webbing from the walls of the shells.

Do not pre-cook the peppers to be stuffed.  You want them al dente so they stand up and hold the filling and don't collapse when you serve them.  They'll get cooked during the final process.

For the filling, simmer together some:

Chopped Celery

Diced Onion
Diced Bell Pepper -- I like to use green peppers in the filling, and stuff red peppers
Pine Nuts

Chopped Olives

Raisins or Sultanas or Currents

Parmesan Cheese

Pasta Sauce or chopped Tomatoes (not much you don't want a watery filling)

Italian Seasoning blend or individual spices -- Rosemary, Oregano, etc. to taste
Panko or other bread crumbs added at the end to tighten the filling up.
Shredded Cheese for topping

Stuff the peppers to the top and add some shredded cheese for a topping.  Leftover stuffing can be placed around the peppers in the baking dish.  

Bake for about 30 minutes until the pepper shells are starting to soften and the cheese on top has melted.

Plate the peppers and add additional cheese topping just before serving.

Stovetop Clafouti
The classic French clafouti that I learned to make years ago was always started on the stovetop and finished in the oven.  Not such a bad thing if you live in cool/cold climates, but not good if you're pre-heating the kitchen 20 minutes to bake something for 15 minutes here in the tropics!  Consequently I'm always looking for stovetop recipes for things that usually require an oven -- breads, desserts, you name it.  Just recently I found this stovetop version  of clafouti.  You'll need an 8"-9" wide shallow sauce pan or similar skillet, with a lid.

12 oz Fruit -- traditionally cherries, but any berry, or diced apple/pear/nectarine will do
3 Eggs
pinch of Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/3 cup Sugar (white or brown)
1/2 cup AP Flour -- unbleached if you can find it.

In a bowl, combine the eggs, salt, extract, sugar and flour, and whisk into a batter.  

Spray your pan/skillet with cooking spray. Heat it hot enough that drops of water sizzle on contact.   Pour in the batter.

Scatter your fruit evenly across the batter.  Cover.  Reduce heat to Low.  Cook for 30-35 minutes until batter is cooked through, like a pancake. 

Remove from the heat and rest 5 minutes.  Carefully remove clafouti from the pan and plate.

Slice into quarters and serve warm.

As you can see, I cooked this one a bit long, and blackened the bottom!  Better luck next time!  Still, minus the black bits it tasted pretty good!

Penne Campania
If you added capers to this dish, it would be Eggplant Caponata.  Without capers (Sally doesn't care for them) it's still a staple in the Campania region of Italy. 
                         

I really like these chunky pasta toppings rather than the pools of Italian-American red gravy sauces we grew up with.  

1 Globe Eggplant -- about a pound
1 Red bell Pepper, diced
1/2 White Onion, diced
2-4 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2+ cup pitted Olives -- green or kalamata
1/4 tsp dried Chili Flakes
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes, whole and halved
1/2 cup Tomato Sauce or pureed tomatoes
1 stick Celery, chopped
Italian Seasoning or Oregano, Basil, Rosemary, etc. to taste
Fresh Basil to taste

Cut the eggplant into 1/2" dice or a bit larger. Saute the onion, celery, garlic and bell pepper until almost tender.  Add the eggplant, season to taste, stir to combine and continue cooking. Add the tomato sauce and 1/2 cup water, the tomatoes and olives.  Continue cooking until everything is warmed through.  Toss in the basil during the last couple of minutes so that it wilts into the sauce.

NoEgg Nog
For those who are dairy and egg intolerant. 

1/2 cup raw Cashews, soaked 4 hours water and drained
1 cup full-fat Coconut Cream (not coconut milk)
1 cup unsweetened, unflavored Nut or Soy Milk
2-1/2 Tbsp Sugar
1-1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp grated Nutmeg
1/8 tsp powdered Cloves
1/8 tsp powdered Cardamon

Put everything in a blender and puree until smooth.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.   Yummmm: