clorinda's stuffed peppers

My mother recently wrote down her grandmother Clorinda's recipe for stuffed peppers. She mentioned that they were best made with sweet red peppers. Three days later, Tom's friend stopped over with some beautiful, organic, red peppers. So it seemed that I should try my hand at making them since these things were falling into my hands. They were really delicious, if I do say so. I served them with some tomato sauce spooned over the top. (I made them without cheese, but I bet they would have been even better with Parmesan cheese. Unfortunately, that isn't an option for my family, and I was too lazy to make some of the stuffing with cheese for me.)

I don't know much about my great grandmother Clorinda, except that I apparently bear a strong resemblance to her. Over the years, I have learned we share other things in common, like the fact that I have always used a LOT of black pepper in my cooking and this didn't come from anywhere that we have figured out. It always makes my mother kind of wonder. . . because they are things that she remembers of her grandmother that I then remind her of.

Clorinda was born on the island of Ischia, off the coast of Naples. She later grew up with an aunt and uncle in the Naples area. She met her husband to be, Peter, when she was a teenager. He fell in love with her, later came to the U.S., and sent for her to join him here after a couple of years. She was about 20 years old. I wish I knew more of the story. I do know something of her life here, and I know she was a woman of great faith.

Clorinda's Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

4-6 sweet peppers (red when available)

2 c. cooked arborio rice, cooled (the kind used in risotto)

salt, pepper, parsley, shredded Parmesan cheese (I used dried basil instead of parsley)

2 eggs, beaten

3 T olive oil and one sliced garlic clove

raisins (a "handful" -- I used golden raisins)

Preheat oven to 350 F

1. slice a thin top off each pepper, and reserve tops to chop up for stuffing - sans stems

2. remove the seeds from the peppers and lightly sauté the outsides of each pepper in the oil and garlic. Remove and cool. (Remove the garlic slices and reserve the oil)

3. mix the rice with the cooled oil, chopped pepper tops, eggs, spices, and raisins (stir in cheese, optional)

4. stuff each pepper with the mixture, and leave about 1/4 empty so that the mixture can "grow"

5. place peppers in a baking dish, cover loosely with foil, and roast on 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

6. reduce the oven heat to about 250 degrees, and roast for another hour or so, until peppers seem tender.

Serve with tomato sauce spooned over the top or as a side dish.