Ben has asked me more than once why I like red, orange, and yellow bell peppers but not green ones.

After reading about them it all makes sense.  All bell peppers begin as green peppers then finally ripen into red peppers.  The other colors lie somewhere in between during the ripening process.

According to the explanation the peppers become sweeter as they ripen.  So that’s that.  I like them better because they are prettier and sweeter.

Green peppers are the main reason I hate supreme pizza.  Even if you pick off every single tiny sliver of green pepper it will still taste like green peppers.  That thin mozzarella sponge must soak in all that bitter flavor while basking in that extra high heat.

During my childhood my parents would make stuffed peppers every once in a while. It was probably the both of them scheming together to wreck my evening by ruining beef and rice. This was accomplished by mixing it together and stuffing it into a vial green shell.

“Don’t eat the pepper part,” they would say.  But the damage was done. Every bite of juicy burger tasted as if it had been soaking in a hot tub filled with a thousand pureed green peppers.

If you happen to love green peppers you’re more than welcome to ruin this recipe with them. But, don’t blame me if your guests or family aren’t jumping for joy when you pull a pan of them out of the oven.

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Mushroom and Tofu Stuffed Peppers

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 8 oz. sliced baby Bella mushrooms
• 1/2 red onion diced
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 8 oz. cubed extra firm tofu drained, and padded dry with paper towels
• 1/2 cup 60 g pine nuts
• 4.5 oz. 128 g baby kale
• 2 ~525 g large red, yellow, or orange peppers (halved lengthwise and de-seeded)
• 2 oz. shredded Havarti

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a 9” X 13” X 2” baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Slice 2 large red, yellow, or orange bell peppers in half lengthwise.
3. Cut out white membranes and seeds, rinse, and set aside.
4. In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, sauté the mushrooms and onion until soft.
5. Sprinkle the onions and mushrooms with a little salt and pepper.
6. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar and add the baby kale.
7. When the baby kale is wilted add the soy sauce, garlic, tofu, and pine nuts.
8. Stir and sauté until all ingredients are well combined and heated through.
9. Remove the pan from the heat.
10. Divide the tofu filling into fourths. Stuff each pepper half with a fourth of the filling.
11. Place each filled pepper half in the baking pan. Use all the stuffing (pile each pepper high).
12. Bake the peppers for 30 minutes.
13. Remove from oven and top each stuffed pepper with ½ oz. of Havarti.
14. Bake peppers for 15 minutes more to melt the cheese.
15. Plate peppers and EAT!!!