Polenta Stuffed Peppers with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

I love stuffed peppers. Our family recipe was my grandmother's, but this is not my grandmother's stuffed bell peppers. This vegetarian recipe is just as good, but meatless, takes less time to prepare and takes only 30 minutes to bake. I doubled the recipe for 4 large bell peppers and had only a cup of the creamy polenta mixture left over, which I can easily incorporate into another meal.

The recipe comes from my cooking course challenge cookbook The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Kitchen by Donna Klein, on page114.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup marinated sun-dried tomatoes, 1/2 tablespoon marinate reserved, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup polenta
1-3/4 cups (14-ounce) can of low-sodium vegetable broth, gluten-free
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, gluten-free
4 large bell peppers (about 8-ounces each), with the tops cut off, seeds and membranes removed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375-degrees
2. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet on medium heat and saute the onion until soft.
3. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute, then stir in the sun-dried tomatoes.
4. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. I added Mount Rose Herbs Mexican Seasoning to taste.
5. In a medium stockpot, bring the broth and water to a boil over high heat.
6. Slowly stir in the polenta with a long-handled wooden spoon.
7. Reduce heat to low and stir in the tomato mixture.
8. Cover and cook until the polenta is tender (about 15-minutes).
9. Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese. Cover and let stand 5 minutes.
10. Pack the bell peppers with the polenta mixture.
11. Place in a shallow glass baking dish and add enough water to the dish to measure 1/2 inch.
12. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes or until set.
13. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese the last five minutes of cooking or when ready to serve.

Serves 4

Next time I make this dish, I think I will add browned, sliced mushrooms and corn kernels (or adjust the liquids to add creamed corn).