Portuguese-Style Stuffed Peppers with Slow-Cooked Onions and Chouriço Rice

About This Recipe

Stuffed peppers aren't a defining classic Portuguese dish the way bacalhau or caldo verde are, but the technique of stuffing vegetables with rice, chouriço and slow-cooked onions draws directly on Portuguese home-cooking flavors. The onions are cooked low and slow before mixing into the filling, so their sweetness balances the smoky, paprika-forward chouriço rather than letting the filling taste one-note. Rice cooked partway before stuffing, rather than raw, ensures it finishes tender inside the peppers without needing an excessively long bake that would otherwise dry out the pepper walls. A light tomato sauce simmered around the stuffed peppers in the pot keeps everything moist and gives you a sauce to spoon over at serving. This is an honest, practical home-style adaptation using real Portuguese pantry flavors, not a claim to any single named regional dish.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4large bell peppers(tops cut, seeded)
• 2onions(thinly sliced)
• 150 gchouriço(diced)
• 1 cuplong-grain rice(parboiled 10 minutes)
• 3 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 1.5 tspsweet paprika
• 2 cupscrushed tomatoes
• 1 cupvegetable stock
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 2 tbspchopped parsley

Instructions

1. 1

   Slow-cook the onions

   Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over low heat. Cook onions 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until deeply golden and soft.

2. 2

   Build the filling

   Add chouriço, garlic and paprika to the onions, cooking 3 minutes. Stir in parboiled rice and half the crushed tomatoes, then remove from heat.

3. 3

   Prepare the peppers

   Blanch peppers in boiling water 3 minutes, then drain and stuff with the filling.

4. 4

   Simmer

   In a wide pot, combine remaining crushed tomatoes, stock and remaining olive oil. Nestle stuffed peppers in, cover, and simmer 30-35 minutes until peppers are tender.

5. 5

   Serve

   Plate the peppers with sauce spooned over, garnished with parsley.

Variations

• •

  Add pitted olives to the filling for a briny, Mediterranean-leaning note.

• •

  Swap chouriço for smoked paprika and chickpeas for a vegetarian version.

• •

  Top with grated cheese in the last 10 minutes of simmering for a richer finish.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days in an airtight container with the sauce. Reheat gently on the stove or in a covered dish in a 175C (350F) oven.

Frequently Asked Questions