Stuffed Green Peppers with Farro and Sausage in a Sungold Cherry Tomato Sauce

When an abundance of cherry tomatoes graces your garden, roast them in the oven to make a glorious sauce.

To the sauce, I combined Italian sausage and farro to make a dreamy filling for roasted green peppers. The result was a garden-fresh dinner that everyone loved.

Why make stuffed green peppers?

Stuffed green peppers are fun to make! The filling options are endless, but I do find that All Grass Farms Italian sausage turns this dish into a filling, flavor packed meal. I prefer to cut the tops off the peppers and fill them up that way. One stuffed pepper is satiating to me, two for my husband. Cutting the peppers in half, into two even pieces, is another option for smaller portions.

To put summer veggies to use! I love that my birthday is in July. I’m always hoping that by July 16th the garden will gift me the season’s first ripe tomato. Along with cherry tomatoes, in northern Illinois, green peppers are in abundance, potentially a few early maturing red. Cucumbers are doubling in size overnight; braids of garlic and onions are set out to cure.

Stuffed green peppers make excellent leftovers! I think they taste even better the next day. The flavors get a chance to develop. Typically, 3 or 4 days is the max I would leave them in the fridge. They are so good; they don’t last that long anyway.

How do you eat stuffed peppers?

This is one of those questions that doesn’t really have an answer. It’s up to you! Here are a few options:

Slice the pepper little by little, eating the filling along with a long strip of pepper.

Eat the filling then eat the pepper.

Cut everything up into bite sized pieces.

What matters most is that you enjoy the meal. No matter how you slice it, it’s going to be great. Literally and figuratively.

How to make stuffed peppers, easily explained.

OVEN ROASTED VEGGIES

The foundational layer of flavor begins with roasting salted and oiled Sungold cherry tomatoes, onions and bell peppers in a 425F degree oven until beautifully caramelized, around 25 minutes.

I grew Sun Gold tomatoes this year, so that was what I used. Use any sweet cherry tomato. Sweet 100 is an exceptional cherry tomato that would work very well in this recipe.

Roasting concentrates the sweetness of the veggies and makes for a flavorful sauce.

STOVETOP SAUSAGE

While the veggies are roasting, shallow fry rosemary in a Dutch oven. In 3 tbsp of Olive oil over medium heat, I find one large spring of rosemary will fry in around 2 minutes. Set it aside on a cutting board or bowl to further crisp up. Add 5 smashed garlic cloves to the pot. Don’t worry about the size of the garlic, everything will be blended together. The idea here is to infuse the oil with the garlic. Move the garlic around for around 45 seconds, then set aside with the rosemary. Keep an eye on the temperature of the oil, if it’s smoking, lower the heat.

In the rosemary garlic infused oil, brown the Italian sausage with a pinch of salt. Set aside.

SUN GOLD TOMATO SAUCE

To the empty Dutch oven, add all the contents of the pan with the roasted veggies. Oil, any brown bits–it’s all good. Stripe the rosemary from its stalk, crushing it with your fingers into the pot. The garlic along with Worcestershire sauce, dried oregano, basil, Italian seasonings and Ajika join the party. Ajika is a spicy garlic seasoning I buy from Trader Joes. If you can’t find it, substitute it with red chili flakes. Cook everything a few minutes then add a 6oz can of tomato paste and 1 cup beef broth. Blend everything. I use an immersion blender, but a regular blender works just as well. Be careful blending hot liquids, no injuries on my account, please! I find it important for the overall texture to blend because if not, you will have annoying shards of pepper skin in the sauce. Add a parmesan rind for extra saltiness and flavor and cook on low for 2-2.5 hours.

WRAP UP

During the last hour of the sauce cooking, prepare the farro per package instructions but using beef broth rather than water. With a constant low boil, farro softens to the perfect al dente texture in 25 minutes. I like to drain the excess water then put the farro back in the pot with the heat off, lid on, to steam for another 15 minutes. To save time, you can make the farro the day before.

Cut the tops off of 6 medium size green peppers, removing seeds and white ribs. Keep the tops intact. Rub everything with oil and evenly salt. Put the tops back on and roast in a 400F degree oven for 12-18 minutes. They should be soft but still hold their shape.

Combine the farro with the sauce. Add shredded mozzarella cheese and stir to melt. Remove parmesan then stuff the peppers until packed full. Top with more cheese and put back into the oven until the cheese melts. A 12-inch cast iron pan fit’s 6 peppers perfectly. They will be tightly packed enough to stay upright. A muffin tin will work well too.