With the cold winters months here, it’s been all about indulging in comfort food. These Moroccan inspired stuffed peppers and tomatoes are the perfect comfort food and a recipe you will love. Ground chicken and rice with aromatic flavours of cumin, cinnamon, paprika and mint are all nestled and baked in Ontario tender, sweet, peppers and tomatoes.

Being a passionate local farm to table advocate, I am excited to be partnering with Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers to nourish you. Our Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Farmers are working hard to produce quality and good tasting veggies so we have access to delicious local produce all year around.

Did you know Ontario has approximately 220 greenhouse growers who grow greenhouse tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers on over 3,000 acres. They grow 476,000 tonnes of produce annually here in Ontario Canada. With 63% of the Canadian greenhouses are in Ontario, most are family owned businesses. Located from Windsor to Niagara and as far north as Ottawa – many large greenhouses are situated around the Leamington, London and Niagara area. Ontario Greenhouse vegetables are distributed across North America where the majority of markets are within a one-day drive so they arrive to customers freshly picked. All produce are picked daily, by hand so you know you are getting quality. The Ontario greenhouse sector employs over 13,000 people. Join me in supporting our local Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers and enjoy this recipe. You can also visit https://www.ogvg.com/ for an online tour of a greenhouse and to learn more.

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Moroccan Inspired Chicken and Rice Stuffed Peppers and Tomatoes

Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Cypriot, Greek

Yield: 4 to 6 people

Materials

• 4 medium Ontario Greenhouse peppers mix of yellow and red
• 4 medium Ontario Greenhouse beefsteak tomatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup finely diced cooking onions
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 cup short grain or long grain rice
• 2 tbsp dried mint
• 1 cup finely chopped Italian flat leaf parsley with stem
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup canned finely chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and fresh ground pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Prepare peppers by slicing the tops off a 1/4 inch thick. Then clean out peppers and set aside with their tops.
• Prepare tomatoes by slicing off the tops a 1/4 inch thick and set aside. Clean out the inside of the tomatoes. Finely chop the insides of tomatoes and reserve.
• In a large deep sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for 1-2 minutes or until soft and translucent.
• Add garlic, ginger, cinnamon, ground pepper and sauté for an additional minute.
• Add in tomato paste and cook stirring occasionally for 1 minute.
• Stir in the reserved chopped tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes or until tomatoes have broken down.
• Add in ground chicken and cook until browned, about 5-6 minutes.
• Stir in rice, 1/2 cup of canned tomatoes and 1/2 cup chicken broth. Cook for 5-6 minutes until mixture has slightly thickened.
• Remove from heat and stir in dried mint, parsley and salt and set mixture aside.
• In a separate bowl, mix together remaining canned tomatoes, broth, paprika, cumin and lemon juice. Reserve 1/2 cup of this tomato sauce.
• Pour remaining tomato sauce on the bottom of a deep baking dish that will fit peppers and tomatoes. Now stuff peppers and tomatoes with the rice and meat mixture and arrange on top of tomato sauce.
• Pour the 1/2 cup reserved tomato sauce on top of the stuffed tomatoes and peppers. Place tops on peppers and tomatoes.
• Drizzle tops with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
• Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake in preheated oven for 45-50 mins depending on how large your peppers and tomatoes are. Remove foil from baking dish and increase oven to 400F. Continue baking for 20-25 minutes until tomatoes and peppers have charred and softened.
• Turn off oven, re-cover baking dish with foil and let stand for 15 minutes in warm oven. Transfer to a serving platter and drizzle with the sauce from the bottom of the pan. Serve warm with salad and crusty bread to mop up the flavourful juices.