Smoked Italian Stuffed Peppers with Burrata and Pesto Cream
I’ve already shared my recipe for sausage and peppers, a staple in my home as a Canadian-
Italian, but this time I’m bringing you a little twist on that classic sausage and peppers. Instead of sausages served with grilled peppers, I stuffed banana peppers with mild Italian sausage and smoked them in the Alchemy smoker. I took the sausage out of the casings and mixed it with jardiniera and passata and then filled the banana peppers with the mixture. The sausages get a great smoky taste and the peppers cook perfectly with a bit of smoke and heat.
Of course, I didn’t stop there and topped the smoked stuffed peppers with a ball of burrata and made hand-chopped pesto cream to drizzle on top. The smoky and delicious sausage, the bit of heat from the banana peppers, the cool and creamy burrata with the salty and herby pesto cream makes a bite to remember. The whole dish is plated on top of a fresh arugula salad mixed with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. The bit of freshness and bitterness of the arugula goes so well with all the other flavours, although this part could technically be optional, I would recommend doing it. Keep reading if you want to find out how to make my Smoked Italian Stuffed Peppers with Burrata and Pesto Cream, or jump to the full recipe.
Set the Alchemy smoker to 375-400F. Remove the sausage from their casings and place in a bowl.
Add in the jardiniera and passata, mix to combine.
Slice the banana peppers in half, lengthwise, and remove the seeds.
Fill in the peppers with the sausage mixture and place in the smoker.
You can put the stuffed peppers straight on the rack, or in an aluminum container/tray. Smoke for about 20 minutes, or until the sausage is cooked through.
To make your pesto cream, toast your pine nuts in a pan on the plancha.
Mince your garlic, drizzle with olive oil and continue to mince until it forms a paste.
Remove the pine nuts from the pan and crush with the bottom of the pan, drizzle with olive oil and chop.
Mix the chopped pine nuts and garlic together. Remove any thick stems from the basil and finely chop. Drizzle with olive oil and continue to chop, mixing it in with the pine nuts and garlic.
Season with salt and add the zest from one lemon and continue to chop.
In a pan on the plancha, add the butter then squeeze in the juice from a lemon, add your pesto mixture and stir to combine.
Cook until the butter is melted and the pesto is slightly thickened.
In a bowl, mix the arugula with the juice from one lemon, olive 2 tbsp olive oil and salt to taste. Mix to combine.
To plate, place down your arugula first and add the stuffed peppers on top.
Place the ball of burrata on top of the stuffed sausages and arugula salad. Using a knife, cut through the centre of the burrata.
Pour over the pesto cream, season with salt and pepper and dig in.
And now for the full recipe...
Smoked Italian Stuffed Peppers with Burrata and Pesto Cream
Serves 2-3 people
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
4 mild Italian sausage
½ cup jardiniera
4 banana peppers
100 ml passata
½ cup butter
1 lemon, juice and zest
80g pine nuts
4-5 cloves garlic
1-1 ½ cups fresh basil leaves
½ cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
Black pepper, to taste
2cups arugula
juice from 1 lemon
3tbsp olive oil
1 ball burrata
Maldon salt
How to Make Smoked Italian Stuffed Peppers with Burrata and Pesto Cream
Set smoker to 375-400F.
Remove the sausage from their casings and place in a bowl. Add in the jardiniera and passata, mix.
Slice the banana peppers in half, lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Fill in the peppers with the sausage mixture and place in the smoker. You can put them straight on the rack, or in an aluminum container/tray. Smoke for about 20 minutes, or until the sausage is cooked through.
To make your pesto cream, toast your pine nuts in a pan on the plancha. Mince your garlic, drizzle with olive oil and continue to mince until it forms a paste. Remove the pine nuts from the pan and crush with the bottom of the pan, drizzle with olive oil and chop. Mix the chopped pine nuts and garlic together. Remove any thick stems from the basil and finely chop. Drizzle with olive oil and continue to chop, mixing it in with the pine nuts and garlic. Season with salt and add the zest from one lemon and continue to chop.
In a pan on the plancha, add the butter then squeeze in the juice from a lemon, add your pesto mixture and stir to combine. Cook until the butter is melted and the pesto is slightly thickened.
In a bowl, mix the arugula with the juice from one lemon, olive 2 tbsp olive oil and salt to taste. Mix to combine.
To plate, place down your arugula first. Add the stuffed peppers on top and place the ball of burrata on top of them. Using a knife, cut through the centre of the burrata. Pour over the pesto cream, season with salt and pepper and dig in.
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