Saved by the Bell
- Becca Wilson
- Nov 10, 2017
- 3 min read
Not sure what to do with leftover risotto? Bell peppers to the rescue!
Sorry for the pun, I just had a blast from the past when I was using these peppers and the theme from 'Saved By The Bell' came into my head. I was born just as it was on TV but I remember watching episodes back when I was a little older. I do love a 90s TV show. Who doesn't love the Fresh Prince, Friends, The Simpsons, Kenan and Kel, Home Improvement, Sabrina, Will and Grace and Frasier?! The list could go on and on. I still like a bit of Frasier on a Sunday morning.
Anyway, sorry back to food. Bell peppers + risotto + pesto crumb + mozzarella = Delicious Stuffed Peppers.
Scott and I made a red pesto risotto on Tuesday with roast veg through it and plenty of fresh basil and parmesan. It was a very satisfying, flavoursome dish. I've used the leftovers to make arancini before and they were tasty, however, I need to practise making them again. I would also like to try making risotto cakes - made by creating a risotto patty with a plenty of cheese inside, covering in flour, refrigerating and then frying. This time, however, I wanted to try something a little different.
Below is the recipe for risotto stuffed peppers with a cheesy, pesto crumb on top. I served them with an Italian salsa, fresh green beans and corn on the cob. This dish uses up leftover risotto and leftover pesto - yay!
Ingredients:
Leftover risotto
4-6 bell peppers (depending on how much leftover risotto you have), top cut off and seeds removed
Tomato puree - jazzed up with herbs of your choice
Grated mozzarella
Optional - green beans and corn on the cob
For the pesto crumb -
4 tbsp pesto (I had leftover homemade red pesto)
1 schar GF brown ciabatta roll
10g parmesan
2 tbsp fresh basil
For the Italian salsa -
225g plum tomatoes, chopped
1/4 small red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme and fresh basil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/gas mark 4.
Place the leftover risotto in an ovenproof dish to warm up in the oven (with the lid on).
Optional - cover the corn on the cobs individually with tin foil and place in the oven.
Meanwhile, cut the tops off the bell peppers, around the stalks. Remove seeds and white bits from the insides.
Place in oven with lids back on for 5 minutes.
Scoop the leftover risotto into the peppers, fill until just short of full.
Blitz the pesto crumb ingredients in a blender.
Stir in the puree and sprinkle pesto crumb on top of the peppers with a sprinkling of mozzarella and place on a baking tray. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the skin of the peppers start to blister or char.
Meanwhile, combine all Italian salsa ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.
Once the peppers are nearly cooked, wash and cook green beans in a pan of boiling water.
Serve.
Yum, yum, yum.
This was a great way to use up leftover risotto. We were all pretty full after dinner, but it was a healthy sort of full (a full of veg kinda full).
Scott and I have been busy buying bits and bobs for travelling, organising various things and starting to pack for our journey. It's a scary, but exciting, next chapter. I have really enjoyed writing this blog and I hope I can keep it up when I am away in NZ. I hope you don't mind but it will probably include not only what we're eating, but our journey, sights and adventures. I hope this blog has been helpful so far - I'm not the best cook and I don't always have time to cook but I like to have a bank of recipes. Quite often I have flicked through my blog and remade a dish that I liked. That's what it's there for. Cooking should be fun and I am enjoying trying out veggie gluten free food. Take these recipes, change them a little, change them totally - everyone is unique in what they like. Food is important though, and it's definitely something I enjoy. I hope you do too.
Thanks for reading x gf v x
P.s. I also made some tuscan bean soup last night. I will share the recipe soon.
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