Mexican chorizo stuffed peppers
I remember seeing fresh Mexican chorizo in a few grocers in Southern California last time we were there, wondering what it was all about. I’ve since learned that, unlike Spanish chorizo and Portuguese chouriço, you discard the casing of the Mexican variety when it’s time to cook it. Something to do with the casing being made of inedible plastic, methinks.
I scoured the web and looked at a variety of recipes, and using my own Mexican spice, I created th chorizo myself. Due to the nature of this stuffed peppers recipe, there was no need to shape the chorizo into sausages or stuff the meat mixture into some form of casing.
I just lumped it into a plastic bag to rest overnight, allowing the flavours to make friends. Easy.
I’ve used some chiltepins from my special little stash, grinding them in the gorgeous ironwood mortar I was gifted by my friend David on the other side of the world, in Tucson. These things are fiercely hot!
If I didn’t have them, I’d have just gone with regular dried red chillies.
David also gave me some dried Mexican oregano. I’ve learned that it’s a complete different plant to regular Mediterranean oregano. Similar smell, but the Mexican variety is grassy and citrusy rather than sweet and aniseedy.
I couldn’t find smoked mozzarella in shops anywhere when I made this. Regular mozzarella is fine, but I like a bit of smoke, and I reckon it goes well with this dish. Thanks to owning an electric hot smoker, I smoked it myself. As you do.
Wouldn’t it melt in the hot smoker? I hear you ask.
I already considered that, so I froze the mozzarella and smoked it frozen for 20 minutes. The smell is amazing, and that flavour!
Any capsicum or pepper would do with this recipe, and as an added (fiery) bonus, I stuffed a few jalapeños. Yep, I’m a bit of a sucker for punishment.
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servings
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- 500 g pork mince
- 4 tbsp Mexican spice recipe link in notes
- 1 tbsp chilli flakes
- 1½ tsp salt
- 40 ml apple cider vinegar
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 200 g dried black beans soaked overnight, then cooked and cooled
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 60 g smoked mozzarella plus extra for topping
- ¼ cup Coriander leaves plus extra to garnish
- 500 g fresh tomatoes puréed
- ½ tsp chiltepins (or 1 tsp chilli powder) or to taste, ground
- ½ tsp Mexican oregano or use regular
- 600 g bullhorn peppers or any variety you prefer
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes
- Jalapeño & red chilli sliced, to garnish
Ingredients
Mexican chorizo
The rest
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- Combine all ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight for the flavours to develop.
- Sauté the onion with the olive oil in a marge skillet over medium heat until opaque. Add the chorizo, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks for 5 minutes. Add the beans and cook for a further 2 minutes. Stir through the tomato paste and turn off the heat. Set aside to cool, then stir through the 60 g mozzarella and ¼ cup coriander.
- Cut the tops off the peppers, remove the seeds and membranes and stuff each one with the chorizo mixture. Secure the top back onto it with a toothpick. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 220°C.
- Place the fresh tomato purée into the same pan the chorizo mixture came out of (no need to wash), add the chiltepins and oregano and bring to a simmer. Season to taste, then turn off heat.
- Pour the tomato sauce into the base of a shallow baking dish big enough to hold all the stuffed capsicums. Lay the stuffed peppers on the tomato sauce. Do not overcrowd the dish, so use two if you have to. Scatter over the cherry tomatoes and drizzle the peppers with a little olive oil.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven, discard the toothpicks, scatter over as much grated mozzarella as you like, and bake for a further 15 minutes.
- To serve, garnish with coriander leaves and chopped fresh chilli. Serve with rice or salad.
