I have been kicking this idea around for weeks now. This is my take on breakfast stuffed peppers.
I grew up in a hardworking, blue-collar household. I had a sick sibling and there were times that money was tight. For this reason my father worked during the day and my mother worked at night.
My mother was the planner. She was a tireless source of timelines and strategies and nurturing and love. My father was the imaginative enabler of flights of fancy; while instilling confidence and determination in me. I would miss my mother terribly some nights and that was when my father would create magic from the most unexpected places. We’d have sword fights and pretend marching bands in which the instruments were pots and pans for drums and empty paper towel rolls for horns and philosophical talks about the wisdom of Pooh and Paddington and on occasion – Yosemite Sam.
He would also create feasts. One of my favorite things to this day; is breakfast for dinner and that’s because of him.
Equipment
Ingredients
Stuffed Peppers
- 1/2 yellow onion minced
- 1/2 orange or red pepper diced well
- 1 tomato diced
- 1/2 cup Manchego cheese shredded
- 1 cup cooked ham cubed
- 5 eggs
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp butter plus one pat
- 2 green peppers large
- 1/4 cup salsa
Tomato Toasts
- 4 slices sour dough bread
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup Manchego cheese grated
- 1 cup mixed cherry tomatoes halved
- salt
- pepper
- 1 pinch nutmeg
Instructions
Peppers
- Fill a 3 quart pot a quarter full with water and a pinch of salt. Cut the tops of green peppers off and remove stems, membranes and seeds. Place peppers in pot carefully and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid (leave cracked) and parboil over medium heat for about 8 minutes or until you can pierce with a fork.
- Chop the vegetables
- In a separate pan, cook ham (I used a ham steak, diced 1 cup for the eggs and kept the rest for another recipe). About 8 minutes.
- Remove ham from pan and put to the side
- Sauté onions and peppers and tomatoes for about five minutes. I also fixed some of the green pepper tops as well for color.
- Beat the eggs with the water and add a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Toss in the pan and cook until firm, scramble and add cheese. Cook for about 5 minutes. Throw ham back in and mix with eggs.
- In a small baking dish - place the green peppers and spoon in the eggs. There will be extra, so carefully spoon around the peppers. Set to the side.
Sauce
- In a small pot melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add 2 tablespoons flour and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk gently and add milk. Once the mixture is simmering on low heat, add the remaining Manchego cheese and a pinch of nutmeg.
- Pour carefully over the peppers and place baking dish on a tray.
Toasts
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Brush olive oil on the sour dough slices and put on tray as well
- Bake for 10 minutes
- Take the dish with peppers out and turn the bread. Bake another 5 minutes.
- Remove bread from the tray. Let cool for about five minutes and prepare the tomato mixture.
- Halve the tomatoes and mince garlic. Season with salt and pepper and mix with olive oil.
- Top the toasts with the tomato/garlic mixture
- Top the peppers with salsa
