I am less than one month away from attending Eat Write Retreat in Philadelphia and am getting so excited for it! Not only is the lineup awesome, but I get to meet a ton of other bloggers, what could be better? As we get closer to the big weekend, the attendees were sent a secret ingredient and were asked to try to incorporate into an appetizer recipe. I received California raisins, which people tend to think of more for sweet foods, but play off savory dishes oh so well. It goes without saying that I haven’t been able to get California Raisins’ classic commercial out of my head since I received them! OXO generously also sent us a few spiffy tools to help create our recipe; I can never have enough of their products!
Raisins are a great addition to a meal to add some sweetness without any added sugar. The dried fruit is loaded with antioxidants and fiber while being fat free and cholesterol free. Did you know that one serving of raisins (just 1/4 cup) has more potassium than a banana?
I have a friend that absolutely raves about Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers that her grandmother used to make for her, with rice, nuts, spices, and golden raisins. I decided to make an appetizer version, using mini sweet peppers. My version of these Mediterranean Stuffed Mini Peppers are stuffed with a lamb-farro mixture that includes tomatoes, raisins, pine nuts, and a touch of lemon zest (using my new snazzy OXO zester (paid link)). The peppers are then topped with feta cheese and broiled to make this recipe for Mediterranean Stuffed Mini Peppers!
Ingredients (serves 8):
- 16 mini sweet peppers, seeded
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped (no more than ½ cup)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ lb ground lamb
- 2/3 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/3 teaspoon cumin
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- the zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons golden raisins
- 2 teaspoons raisins
- 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
- ½ cup cooked farro – I used Tuscan Fields vegetable farro
- ¼ cup Feta, or to taste