As you may have noticed from my Monday Harvest posts I’m growing a fair few peppers this year. Whilst the capsicums have been horrendously slow – I still haven’t harvested a capsicum from any of the plants planted this season (all my harvest has been from overwintered plants). I really need to change variety as I should have had crops by now. The chillies on the other hand have been wonderful, producing endless harvests with the varieties staggering themselves nicely so that when one finishes another starts.
I recently acquired another capsicum plant from Mum & Dad who are hoping I can overwinter it for them, as they get frost but I don’t. Called Mini Mama (capsicum annuum) it produces small sweet red fruits which are about 2cm in diameter. I have found the fruits the perfect size to be stuffed with cheese. The plant was purchased as a seedling at the large green superstore and I’d love to know if anyone grows anything similar and where they get seed as although we have saved seed it was in an area with a lot of other capsicums and chillies so may have crossed.
The Mini Mama fruits are the round ones pictured below:
As the plant had a few decent sized fruit on it I decided to stuff them, and some chillies, for lunch. I used a few jalapenos and some of the Scotch Bonnet chillies for stuffing. I really must find out the Latin name for what I am calling Scotch Bonnet as that isn’t what they are know as internationally but it is what they were called on the seed packet. They are far, far milder than what I would normally call Scotch Bonnet – more like a jalapeno in temperature.
Peppers stuffed with Cheese
- 200g mild chillies or baby sized capsicums
- 150g feta
- 2 tblspns cream cheese or ricotta (optional – if you are using a mild smooth feta you won’t need it)
- 1.5 tblspns soft herbs finely chopped (I used basil, parsley & chervil today)
- Olive oil from drizzling
Heat the oven to 200. Slice the top off the peppers and remove seeds.
Mix together the cheeses and herbs. Season. Fill the peppers with the cheese mixture (if you have some left over it makes a lovely omelette filling). Place in a baking dish. Drizzle over some olive oil. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the peppers have softened.
Serve either hot or cold as a canape or with other salads/mezze.
To see what others are eating this week head over to the Gardener of Eden’s place for Thursday’s Kitchen Cupboard, or to Greenish Thumb for the Garden to Table Challenge.
Wow, these look really good. I may have to go searching for another pepper plant. Thanks!
I do really like them, I just hope they haven’t crossed and I can grow them again next year.
Yum! I do think it could be improved by crumbing and deep frying though ;P
Perhaps wrapped around a Mars bar?
It looks delicious!
Your Scotch Bonnet looks like a Capsicum baccatum chile that is usually called Bishops Crown or a number of other names including Balloon or Christmas Bell. I think there are a number of C. baccatums that look like that but that have subtle differences. I’m growing Christmas Bells right now and they are more flavorful than the similar looking Balloon pepper that I’ve grown in the past. They are good eaten fresh and I’ve also made refrigerator pickles (yum) and quick dried them in a 200°F oven. Your stuffed ones look delicious, I’ll have to remember that when mine come back in season.
Thanks for the info – I think you’re spot on. How do you make your refrigerator pickles? I have a few in the fridge so I’ll definitely try the quick drying method.
I’ll have to get back to you with the recipe. It’s really simple, a mix of vinegar, water, and seasonings heated up and cooled down and then poured into a jar full of raw peppers, refrigerate for a few weeks (or a few months) and enjoy!
Thanks Michelle. I would enjoy that, sounds great.
Yum~ thanks for the stuffed peppers, they look delish. I love pepper anything except those big bells.
I’m intrigue by your Scotch Bonnet if it is fiery hot, I’ll have to look for the seeds now,
Mine isn’t really hot but the ones I used to buy at the West Indian grocer in England they were really really hot. I’ll have a look at the links people have sent and see if I can work out what they were.
They look wonderful! That’s funny that your Scotch Bonnets are real hot. My Jalapenos were so hot last year that you can barely eat them….and I can eat really hot stuff! I tried a different seed source this year hoping they will be the normal temperature of a Jalapeno.
I’me copying this recipe for this summer! Thanks
Mine aren’t that hot, the ones I used to buy at the West Indian grocer in England, now they were hot. Mine are mild/medium which is fortunate. My jalapenos are pretty mild this year.
Those look delicious! I will have to remember that recipe in a few months when it’s pepper season again. I had really spicy peppers last year too. I wonder what made them so hot? I still have a bunch of dried cayenne because I can barely handle a little dash! This year I’m only growing hot banana peppers and the rest sweet bell peppers.
I think I’ll try a banana pepper this year – I haven’t grown them yet.
Liz, these look delicious, love all that cheesy goodness.
My caps have only just starting fruiting too and they are all still green. I’m starting to think I should pick them all now rather than waiting for them to turn red which I’m not sure they’ll do this late in the season. Any tips for over-wintering the plant?
Yeah the ones I grew from seed in 2011 are also only just fruiting I’ve been waiting for them to turn green for ages – very frustrating. I’m definitely going to start mine earlier this year. And if that fails I think I’ll buy seedlings, I sowed mine in August/September and they’ve just been too slow.
Hi Liz,
These look very tasty!! I’m thinking they might be a good dish to take to a share a plate lunch at work sometime…thanks!
I hope you enjoy them. Apart from my partner, who is something of a feta and vegetable aphobe, everyone I know seems to enjoy them.
We’re trying several varieties of peppers this year for the first time. I’m not sure how we’ll do. You’re having amazing success! Your pictures are so well done. That dish would be a huge success in any high end restaurant.
Thanks Jody, I hope yours do well for you – I do find them fun to grow.
Liz, is there some Italian blood in your family?? You love chillis more than me!
I agree on the identification suggested by Michelle – your “Scotch Bonnet” is some sort of Capsicum Baccatum. This link might interest you http://www.g6csy.net/chile/var-c.html
Great link and I think you’re absolutely right – a variety of Capsicum Baccatum. As for the Italian blood – only if there was some hanky panky that isn’t immediately apparent on the family tree – I’m a mix of English, Scottish, Irish & Welsh heritage but mainly English.
I found the seeds for your Scotch Bonnet at Peppergal’s website, it is listed as Napalese Hot Pepper, maybe it’s too late to start the seeds now. Thanks for the photos and description
http://www.peppergal.com/product/HP150%20pepper%20seed
Does it look like the one you’re growing?
That looks right and the description is perfect. Hot but only near the seeds giving it what I would call a mild/medium heat. Mine survives the winter here, but even then it fruits quite late so I think it is definitely one that you’d want to start fairly early. Thanks very much for the link.
This reminded me of the stories my husband tells me about picking capsicums to pay for his travels while in Australia many years ago… it certainly seem it’s a crop that grows well there! Lovely salad plate…
Parts of Australia have a very Meditterraen climate which helps a lot. In Melbourne I find that chillies tend to grow better than the milder peppers but that might just be me.
The photos that go with this post are fantastic, all that red. I love them and wanted to read the post so I could know all about the red. Great job.
Thanks for the feedback Leanne. I do like red it has to be said.
Another great plant to look out for………………….I’m definitely growing chillies and peppers next season!!!! Those mini mamas look fantastic………..yum!!!
Yeah I’m going to explore a few more varieties too – I’ve enjoyed them so much this year.
Oh these look so lovely and something I am very likely to try growing. Thanks for the post on them and your recipe suggestion.
Looks so good!
Jealous of your yummy harvest! Your stuffed peppers look good!! *drool*
They tasted great I have to say, but then I am very partial to feta.
Looks awesome! This would never deter this lactose-intolerant person!
Hi Liz, my chilli plant flowers are dropping, what am I doing wrong!
Hi Jo, Hmmm it could be a great many things. I’m assuming from the email address that you’re in Britain???? it might be simply that this summer hasn’t been warm enough for the variety you are growing. Which variety are you growing? I’m also presuming that they flowers are dropping off prematurely and the plant isn’t setting fruit. The flowers do wither just before the fruit is set so it may be a part of the fruit setting process???. The other thing that I would be checking would be: watering levels and nutrition. Are you over or under watering? Over watering can give very similar symptoms as underwatering. Does the rest of the plant look healthy? If the leaves are yellowing its a reasonable sign of a nutrient deficiency and perhaps you just need to give it a feed. In general plants tend to drop flowers without setting fruit if they are stressed in some way – lack or too much water or food, lack of sun, disease and so on, your best hope is to try and work out which of these is most likely.
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