68. PEPPERS are one of the fruit vegetables. Some varieties of them are
dried and used as a condiment, that is, to season or give relish to
food, but as they are never used as a vegetable, they are not included
here. It is the sweet varieties of peppers which are used as vegetables
and to which reference is made in these discussions. They are valuable
chiefly for two reasons: to flavor various kinds of dishes, such as
entrees, salads, etc., and to make a dish more attractive in appearance
because of the contrast in color they afford. In food value, they are
about equal to the various greens, but as a rule such small quantities
of them are eaten that they cannot be regarded as a food.
69. STUFFED PEPPERS.--The usual way of preparing peppers as a vegetable
is to stuff them and then bake them, when they will appear as in Fig.
14. The stuffing may be made of various kinds of material, such as
pieces of meat, vegetables, cereals, etc., and so affords an excellent
way to utilize left-overs of any of these foods. Two recipes for
stuffing are here given, and either one may be used with equally
good results.
[Illustration: FIG. 14]
To prepare peppers for stuffing, wash them in cold water and remove the
tops by cutting around the peppers a short distance from the stem.
Remove the pulp and seeds from the inside, and wash the peppers
thoroughly to make sure that no loose seeds remain. Fill with the
desired stuffing, place in a shallow pan with a small amount of water,
and bake until the peppers are soft enough to be pierced with a fork.
The water permits the peppers to steam during the first part of the
cooking. Serve hot.
STUFFING NO. 1
(Sufficient for Six Peppers)
2 Tb. ham fat
1 small chopped onion
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash of pepper
1-1/2 c. steamed rice
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/2 c. finely chopped boiled ham
Milk
Melt the fat in a frying pan, add the onion, salt, and pepper, and heat
together for several minutes. Add the rice, bread crumbs, and ham, and
moisten with milk until the mixture is of the right consistency. Use to
fill the peppers.
STUFFING NO. 2
(Sufficient for Six Peppers)
2 Tb. butter
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash of pepper
2 c. stale bread crumbs
2 Tb. chopped parsley
1 tsp. celery salt
Milk
Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the chopped onion, salt, and
pepper, and heat together. To this add the bread crumbs, chopped
parsley, and celery salt, and moisten with enough milk to make the
stuffing of the right consistency. Use to stuff peppers.