Mini Stuffed Peppers with Cheese and Chorizo
The holiday season has finally arrived and I love it so much, because there are always many reasons to gather around good food with family and our lifetime friends. After Thanksgiving, everything focuses on the sweet Christmas. Many families choose to wait for Santa to show up after enjoying a delicious dinner. Others, especially families with little children (as in my case), may put the kids to bed at night and then the next morning is when the presents are distributed and opened. And it’s a whole ritual that goes beyond the gifts themselves, it’s the union with people and how important it is to gather around love. And a way that I always have to manifest such love is through cooking.
Every year is different, in terms of the number of guests invited for dinner, and it’s not always an easy task to decide what to cook for so many people. That is why it’s always good to have alternatives, as well as planning the menu ahead of time.
Today I want to share with you a very versatile idea, and I say this because these mini-peppers filled with cheese and chorizo can be used as an appetizer, which is when all the guests begin to arrive and before sitting at the table for the meal. And the truth is that it’s very nice to snack on something before the dinner, but it’s important that it’s not something too heavy or filling for the stomach, so that it doesn’t steal the spotlight of the main course of the meal. That’s why this recipe that uses mainly small bell peppers is much lighter than if I had used some kind of dough with flour.
Now, this recipe is also a perfect and original side that you can add to your main course dish. And the truth is that it also makes a perfect combination with either red meats or white meats.
The preparation process is very simple and you should only be careful when handling the mini-peppers to prevent them from breaking. The cheese and chorizo on this recipe will provide an explosion of flavors and will balance well with the mini-peppers.
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WHAT YOU NEED
- 1 package (24 units) of mini sweet peppers
- 1 package of Cacique® Oaxaca cheese
- 1 Cacique® Beef Chorizo
- ½ unit of chopped red onion
- 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon of parsley
HOW TO MAKE IT
- Preheat the oven to 380°F (190°C).
- Wash the mini sweet peppers. Cut the top of each mini pepper and clean their insides with care, so that they don’t break. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook it until it has softened, for about 5 minutes. Add the chorizo and parsley and cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well. Turn off the heat and let the mix to cool down a little bit.
- Cut the Oaxaca cheese in small squares and pour it into the chorizo mix. Fill a mini pepper with 1 teaspoon of the chorizo mix and cheese until the pepper is completely filled. Repeat for all other peppers.
- Put the filled mini peppers on top of a baking tray that was previously covered with aluminum foil, and pour some non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve immediately, and you can also decorate with parsley if desired.
