This Zhoug Stuffed Bell Pepper recipe includes ingredients that are common in Northern Italy, such as rice, root vegetables, and sausage. However, there’s one ingredient that is not native to Italy: Zhoug. (Zhoug actually originates from Yemen and is popular throughout the Middle East.) I added Trader Joe’s Zhoug sauce to these stuffed peppers because it has a spicy kick that compliments pasta sauce really well, and I love when dishes are made with a fusion of ingredients from different cuisines.
If you don’t live near a Trader Joes, you could also make your own Zhoug sauce. The blog Cookie and Kate has a Trader Joe’s copycat recipe that takes about 10 minutes to make using cilantro, jalapeños, and garlic as the main ingredients.
What I like about these zhoug stuffed bell peppers is that they’re gluten-free, packed with flavor, and easy to make in advance for dinner.
This is what the pan looked like when I started cooking.
The Zhoug stuffed bell peppers are especially perfect to make for a dinner party or date night in, because the presentation of the finished dish comes together nicely with little effort involved.
I made these a couple days before hosting an al fresco dinner party for my parents and boyfriend. It couldn’t have been easier to throw everything together that night. I took the peppers out of the fridge and let them sit out for about 20 minutes before putting them in the oven. Aside from just having the peppers on top of arugula for dinner, we also shared a loaf of Trader Joe’s Focaccia bread with roasted tomatoes and parmesan. We each had our own personal dipping bowl containing warm marinara sauce that had been on the stove on low while the peppers baked. When the bell peppers had 10 minutes left to bake, that’s when we threw the Focaccia bread into the oven. Presto!
The two pictures above shows the same bell peppers, just with different toppings/sides. The only difference is on the left, the bell peppers had zhoug sauce drizzled on top of the pepper and a spoonful of zhoug was also placed below the pepper, with arugula arranged around it. Since I ran out of arugula and zhoug to go with a leftover stuffed pepper, I just used leftover pasta sauce I had on hand to go with it (seen on the right). You can’t go wrong with either version if ya ask me!
Zhoug stuffed bell peppers with sausage
Ingredients
Base
- 3 bell peppers, pitted and cut in half lengthwise
Stuffing
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups zucchini cut into half inch cubes
- ½ cup yellow onion, minced
- ½ cup carrot, cut into cubes
- 1 cup ground pork sausage
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 cup rice, cooked
- 5 tbsp Trader Joe's Zhoug sauce
- 1 cup tomato basil sauce (any kind of red pasta sauce will work)
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan reggiano cheese
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
Base/Topping Sauce
- 1 cup tomato basil sauce or remaining Trader Joe's Zhoug sauce. You could select one of the two sauces, or combine pasta sauce with remaining Zhoug sauce.
Suggested to serve with…
- arugula
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Set the oven to medium heat and add olive oil, garlic, zucchini, onion, carrots, and thyme. Saute until onions turn opaque, approximately 3-5 minutes.
- Add sausage and break apart as it cooks. Cook thoroughly for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Allow the pan to cool for another 5 minutes, then carefully wipe excess grease from the pan with a paper towel.
- Stir Zhoug sauce, cooked rice, white wine vinegar, 1 cup tomato basil sauce and grated Parmesan reggiano cheese into the stuffing mixture.
- Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the base/topping sauce on the stove over low heat.
- When you take the peppers out of the oven, prepare the plates. First, scoop up a spoon of the base sauce and place in the center of the plate. Surround the sauce with a bed of arugula. Carefully place each cooked stuffed pepper on top of the sauce. Scoop another spoon of the topping sauce on top of the pepper, and place a single arugula leaf on top for restaurant-style presentation. If you don't have arugula, you can also garnish with a sprig of rosemary.
Want more ideas for how you can eat like you’re on vacation in Italy?
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1. LEARN TO COOK LIKE AN ITALIAN, WITH AN ITALIAN—VIRTUALLY
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3. LEARN ABOUT REGIONAL ITALIAN FOOD
4. PARTICIPATE IN A VIRTUAL WINE TASTING
5. TRANSFORM YOUR DINING SPACE’S AMBIANCE
6. MAKE AN ICONIC ITALIAN APÉRITIF
7. MASTER HOW TO ASSEMBLE AN ANTIPASTO PLATTER
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