Recipe from the Garden: Hot Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Herbs

Those two little hot peppers that you saw in my last post got turned into stuffed peppers tonight. They are Capsicum Annuum "Mariachi" Hot Peppers. The flavor is mildly hot, probably not even quite as hot as a jalapeno.* They start out yellow and ripen to a deep red color. They are meant to be used raw, such as in salads, or you can cook them.

I originally was going to use a recipe. I saw something on Martha Stewart’s website that I thought I would try, but then decided against it because it used jarred peppers, the liquid that comes with it, lemons, and mint, etc. I just wasn’t diggin’ that idea. I decided to just wing it based on what herbs I had in the garden. I don’t have measurements, I just did it to taste.

Hot Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Herbs

Ingredients
• Hot Peppers
• Goat Cheese (softened)
• Chopped Scallions
• Red Pepper Flakes (optional if you want a little extra heat)
• Chopped Fresh Chives (I used Garlic Chives because I have an abundance of that in the kitchen garden right now)
• Chopped Fresh Basil
• Chopped Fresh Oregano
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions
Broil the hot peppers for 5-8 minutes (turn halfway through heating). Let the hot peppers cool so the cheese doesn’t melt when you go to stuff them. Mix the scallions and herbs with the goat cheese. You can add a little salt and pepper to taste. Stuff the peppers with the cheese mixture. (I used the flat end of a chopstick to help push the cheese to the bottom of the peppers.) Garnish with chopped chives or garlic chives. I suggest cutting these into smaller bits to eat, but if you like hot stuff, go ahead and pop one right in your mouth!

Makes a good little app for a summer night. I only have one plant of these hot peppers, but boy, there are a TON of little peppers forming on there. One plant is definitely enough, at least for me.

* Postscript: I just learned the hard way, the smaller the pepper the hotter it is!