Stuffed Sweet Peppers With Tuna, Bulgur and Herbs Recipe (2024)

The recipe calls for peppers "cored". Yet your picture shows them with their tops on and you tell us to "make a slit" after they are cooked. So how are we supposed to core them? Not from the top (which you show still attached). Not from the side (which you tell us to slit after cooking). So where? From the tip? That sounds impractical.

I've done this twice for co*cktail parties, once with bulgur and once without. The peppers without bulgur - with just a packing of what is essentially a tuna salad mixture - were more popular. Less mush. It's essential to mince the celery, garlic and anchovies very fine and use the smallest capers. A dash of Tabasco helps. Tuna must be thoroughly drained. Keep stems on for handling and remove core and seeds with index finger. Don't overstuff. Chill.

This recipe looks fantastic. However, the difficulty with roasted chilis is coring, while keeping the stem intact. The instructions call for cored peppers, but the stem is intact in the pic. That is virtually impossible on a pepper this small. It would be helpful to know at what point the peppers are supposed to be cored and how to core them without losing the stem. I think the simple solution would be to simply roast them whole and then eat around the core. Could you clarify, please?

Hello Jim. I agree it's pretty confusing but my best guess would be to roast them whole, cut the slit and simply lift out the core at that stage (which would be a simple operation). I don't see any downside to roasting them with the cores.

I have always sub'd bulgur with some sort of rice, but avoid quinoa because some celiacs (including my husband) can have cross-reaction. Wild rice would bring nice texture to this. And now for a sub for the tuna....

When I make chili rellenos, I slit the pepper down the side with a T cut just below the stem that allows me to open the pepper and remove the seeds and membrane before i roast them. Granted the peppers are larger, but I think this might work for this recipe.

Disagree regarding fresh tuna being better. I'm sure it's fine, but good canned tuna in oil has a special taste particularly good in mixtures like this. As a general matter, and not particularly as to the very mild example about fresh tuna, I am struck by the tone of so many comments on NYT recipes. Often the commenters seem awfully bossy and superior, certainly more so than the friendlier recipe wtiters, Especially uncalled for are sanctimonious complaints re perceived health issues.

I'm with Jim. 'Cored'? When I core a pepper I take the membranes and seeds out from the stem in but in the photo the stems are still intact. Admittedly, in the text the stems are not mentioned one way or another but I have to believe that they would make good handles for noshing. I think I'll just delete the word 'cored' and continue to march.

So for all those fretting about how and when to core the peppers, in the ingredients list, ignore the word "cored" for the peppers. And in Step 5, add the instruction "Remove core" after the first sentence. There you have it!

Fabulous! And if you use tuna in olive oil, you can first drain the tuna and use the oil for the rest of the stuffing prep (except for toasting the bulgur).

In New Mexico (and Mexico), chiles rellenos are made in the way indicated, which is that they are roasted then slit and the insides removed carefully.

Made with 2 bags of small peppers. Tried to core half before cooking and half left whole while roasting. Most cores melted away during roasting so coring became moot point. Large ones needed core removed. I would slit/core them before roasting next time.Larger "small" peppers needed a knife and fork rather than finger foods. There is enough stuffing to stuff 6 large peppers for a main course.We poached 8 oz fresh tunain veg. broth and herbs.Better than canned, bagged, jarred tuna.

I've been making roast mini-peppers for years. Instead of coring, I make an I-beam shaped slit in the peppers (the long side of the cut is parallel to the long side of the pepper), pinch them slightly open, then add the filling. They are also good with a bit of pepperoni and and a cheese that melts well. They are time consuming, but they practically win applause and dinner invitations.

The filling is good in 'classic' stuffed bell peppers (a la Pepin). Pescatarian, too.

To make this a vegetarian appetizer I substituted cooked small black lentils for the tuna. Instead of lemon juice, I use two preserved lemons. No need for the mayonnaise when using lentils. The taste is marvelous, and it looks very impressive on a platter.As for the stuffing of the peppers, do whatever works. It is a bit messy. The small peppers don't have that much in the way of seeds to core, in any case.

To make this vegetarian use lentils, preferably the small black ones, in place of the tuna. Add cut up preserved lemon at the end. One cup of bulgur makes too much stuffing for that many peppers. Use half a cup, and half a cup of lentils.Stuffing the peppers is a bit messy, but worth the effort, I think.

Made these a year later for co*cktails and finger food party and gone within minutes. Our mini-bells (no green ones in pkg) again used up only half of the stuffing mix. What to do with the leftover mix, which itself is very tasty?

To make this recipe even easier, I used roasted piquillo peppers. I only used half of the bulgur after cooking it, kept all other ingredients the same and I stuffed 18 piquillo peppers.

I make this all the time and just skip the peppers entirely. It is so fast and easy that way. I recommend being generous with lemon juice and capers for more zest. I often add an additional can of tuna and sometimes white beans to make it an entire meal. It is much tastier after sitting a day.

left the peppers raw, omitted the bulgur. a fine apptizer

Dear Jim,Leave the tops of the chilis on so they are easier to eat-the stem acts as a little handle which you discard after eating the stuffed chili. Coring just means taking the seeds and veins out of the chili which you do by cutting from the base of the stem to near the tip of the chili.Remember; this is just food. If you make a mess of things it turns into a salad and still remains delicious. R.

I buy these multi colored bagged peppers all the time and roast them whole or just cut off tops. They usually have very few seeds. With a slit I think you will find them easy to clean out. They look Better here with stems on for presentation purposes.

I've made this twice, and it was very popular. It does require a fair amount of time so be forewarned. I make a "T" cut--part way around the cap and then a vertical slit before roasting. I scraped the insides out with a melon baller, which worked well. Next time, I will try making the T cut but skip the scrapping per suggestions. If you use the small bagged peppers as I did, cut roasting time to no more than 12 mins. Extra stuffing was great in our end-of-summer tomatoes!

I roasted the peppers whole, then slit them open to stuff them. My only negative comment is that this took me a lot longer than 45 minutes. I think 45 minutes would do just for the prep work. The peppers look so pretty on the plate!

I ate the small amount of bulgur/tuna mix left over for lunch the next day, topped lightly with a little Greek yogurt. Good enough to stand on its own, perhaps with lettuce as a salad or other things.

Can this be prepared ahead of time and chilled? If yes, is it better if brought to room temperature before serving?

This looked delicious but as it turns out, it is just a glorified tuna fish salad - a lot more trouble than necessary, not really worth it. I agree, the instructions regarding the peppers are a mystery - I didn't core them before roasting. After slitting I used a fruit spoon to remove the seeds.

This is a classic example of professional cooks and food writers completely losing touch with the experience of being a normal home cook. I loved the recipe, but no possible way it takes an hour to make. Coring the peppers alone takes more than 20 minutes, and then you have to roast them and there are separate groups of ingredients prepared in a saucepan, a skillet, and a bowl for the stuffing, plus all the chopping. This is a special occasion recipe. Delicious ... but not for a weeknight.