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Test Recipes: Avocado Pork Stuffed Peppers
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:41 pm    Post subject: Test Recipes: Avocado Pork Stuffed Peppers Reply with quote


Article Digest:
The other day I tried my hand at creating a new recipe for stuffed peppers. Looking around the kitchen, I found a ripe haas avocado and some fresh ground pork. I wondered what it would taste like if I used the avocado in a meatloaf type stuffing for some bell peppers I purchased at the local market.

I cut open the avocado, removed the pit, and spooned out the flesh into a bowl. I then added about two tablespoons of chopped scallions (sometimes called green onions), one teaspoon of white pepper, one teaspoon of cumin, 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. I also prepared one large egg and 1/3 cup of corn meal (to act as a binder).
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I hisked the egg to break it apart and added it to the bowl. I mixed 1/2 pound of ground pork with the other ingredients in the bowl by hand, then added the corn meal and worked it until it started to hold together as a large clump. Using a sharp paring knife, I cut the top of bell peppers off. I completed the coring with a spoon, scraping the ribs from the inside of the pepper. I then rinsed the peppers to remove extra seeds.
[IMG]

I added 1 teaspoon of olive oil to each of the peppers and then spooned the meat mixture into the peppers. The mixture didn't fill the peppers all the way, so I stuffed some bacon into the pepper to top it off. I placed the peppers into an aluminum foil lined pan for easy clean up and slipped it into an oven preheated to 350°F.
[IMG]

After one hour, the peppers were roasted and the stuffing was fully cooked. Unfortunately, the bacon hadn't crisped.

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It looked good, but it wasn't seasoned enough. I ended up eating this dish with extra salt. The bacon was underdone and probably could have used a little bit of a precook in the pan. I almost forgot that an avocado went into making the stuffing because I could barely taste it. Also, the grittiness of the cornmeal took a little getting used to. Next time I'll use bread crumbs. Otherwise, it was quite satisfying and made for a decent dinner.

If I was to do it again, I would precook the bacon, add more salt, and use another avocado. I'll post both recipes below.


Avocado Pork Stuffed Peppers (serves two)
Tested Recipe
<td colspan=7 style="text-align:center">Preheat oven to 350°F
2 large bell pepperscoreoilstuffbake 350°F 60 min.
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 lb. ground porkmixmix
1 haas avocadomashmix
2 Tbs. scallions, chopped
1 tsp. ground white pepper
1 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large eggbeat
1/3 cup corn meal
2 strips bacon
Copyright Michael Chu 2004

Modified Recipe
<td colspan=7 style="text-align:center">Preheat oven to 350°F
2 large bell pepperscoreoilstuffbake 350°F 60 min.
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 lb. ground porkmixmix
2 haas avocadomashmix
2 Tbs. scallions, chopped
1 tsp. ground white pepper
1 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large eggbeat
1/3 cup bread crumbs
2 strips baconcook
Copyright Michael Chu 2004

by Michael Chu
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Avocado just seems to melt when baked. I have yet to find a good baking method for avocado. Perhaps leave out the bacon top, and spoon in some fresh avocado 15 minutes before taking it out of the oven. I'd fry up some bacon pieces until crunchy, mix with chopped avocado and spoon on top of the pork/avocado mixture.

Baking avocado for 1 hour just obliterates it. Its far too delicate, IMHO. Anybody have success baking well with it?
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medicthoughtbubble
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Avocado melts for me as well.
But so do tomatoes (i.e. if I stuff mushrooms with them, they water down the whole oven).

Surely it would be more exciting to put the avocado bits and bobs cold/raw on the top of the stuffed pepper when you've taken it out of the oven Smile But maybe that's just plain mad.
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Joe
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You said you'd "add more salt", but both recipes state 1/4 tsp. salt. Typo?

(The corn meal/breadcrumbs, extra avocado and pre-cooked bacon did make it into recipe #2.)
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supergood
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I completely agree with using the avocado more like a guacamole on top. And I would also use red bell peppers, because the green ones look a bit daft when roasted.
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In my experience anything that requires "cooking" an avocado winds up badly. If you have to have avocado slice it and add it at the end or use guacamole.
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ditto all the cooking avocado comments. Hey, fresh avocado is just great, no?

Next time, try this if you don't mind just a little bit of heat: instead of the green bell peppers, get your hands on some poblanos. They're a cross (literally) between jalepeņos and bell peppers.

Another suggestion is to try pre-roasting the pepper. The Mexicans would say "asar" them. Cook 'em on a grill or over your gas burner until the skin starts bubbling all around -- don't worry about the black stuff. When they look well roasted, stuff 'em in a plastic bag for 10 minutes or so. Peel off the skin. Then use 'em as you did. This really develops the flavor of the poblanos.
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supergood
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The only problem with cooking and peeling the peppers seperately is that structurally they wont be as strong. So when you stuff them you may end up splitting them. But it might work out alright if you're careful.
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scribes
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am a sucker for recipes; reading them, trying them and discussing them. I really enjoyed the whole thing about your recipe--especially the very logical format. I have a son who is an engineer and a daughter who is studying to be one, so the I find the way an engineer thinks to be quite interesting. I must admit, I've never seen a recipe presented almost in spreadsheet format. I showed it to my daughter, and she agreed. I like avocado with a passion, so I'll have to try it cooked to see what I think. Carry on, Chef!
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Liz
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i just stumbled upon this from the blogger mainpage, and i think it's BRILLIANT. rock on.
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CGP
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just wanted to say that I recently found your site through slashdot and I really like the way you organize the cooking information. Keep up the good work.
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abbie_katie
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In bringing together the stuffed peppers and zucchini (sp?) & mushrooms in the posting below, I too had the same dilemma with stuffing some peppers that I had sitting around from the farmers market. I took two zucchini's and diced them with half a pound of mushrooms and a few cloves of garlis, and sauteed in a bit of olive oil. Then cooked up a cup of quinoa by the label directions, I tossed this all together with a half a pound of browned ground turkey and stuffed them peppers full. I then sprinkled the tops of the peppers with some grated parmesan and baked until the peppers looked cooked. My husband loved it, snd now I get craving for the mixture all the time, even though under normal circumstances I don't like bell peppers.
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would leave the avacado out, and serve fresh sliced avacado wedges on the side of the pepper with dried cherries.

Try it. Avacado and dried cherries work together. Even with the bacon....

S
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Christop
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've used avocado in a tandoori strifry before. Aand because I didn't put it in till it was nearly all cooked, it didn't melt.
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Swenson USA
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would use Cracker mill... and would problal mix the avacodo,some Diced Tomato and Crisp bacon as a topper when it comes out of the oven. Seasoning the pork well with salt and pepper before cookiing..
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