STUFFED PEPPERS WITH CHORIZO & WILD RICE

SERVES 4

HOW CAN ANYONE NOT LOVE to make stuffed peppers? Cut a pepper in half and it becomes nature’s bowl! I like to use all kinds of colors and sizes of peppers and fill them with rice, grain, sausage, fish, or eggs. It’s your decision whether you cook them for 25 minutes, as I do here, so the peppers retain their identity, or cook them longer, so the peppers almost melt, roasted, into the stuffing. Both are impossibly delicious.

¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling

2 pounds chorizo sausage, removed from the casing

4 cups cooked wild rice

Large handful finely chopped fresh chives

Salt and pepper

4 large bell peppers, or a mix of sizes, halved lengthwise, seeded, and ribs trimmed

4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, cut into 8 pieces

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Heat the oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up any large clumps, until it’s cooked through, about 8 minutes. Drain any rendered fat. Transfer to a large bowl, add the rice, chives, salt, and pepper to the bowl, and stir to combine.

Lay the pepper halves cut-side up in a baking dish. Drizzle with oil, then add salt and pepper and a piece of butter to each. Spoon the chorizo filling into each half. Bake until the peppers are soft and the filling is steaming hot, about 25 minutes.