Mini Sweet Peppers Stuffed with Sweet Corn & Spinach

These Mini Sweet Peppers stuffed with Sweet Corn and Spinach make a great appetizer.

Yields: 15 pieces

Ingredients:

Mini Sweet Peppers – 15
Olive Oil – 1 teaspoon

For Stuffing:

Olive Oil – 1 teaspoon
Butter – 1tablespoons
Garlic, minced – 1 1/2 teaspoons
Onion – 1 small
Sweet Corn Niblets – 1 cup
Spinach – 1 bunch
Salt to taste
Peppercorns, freshly ground – 1 teaspoon
Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated – 1/3 cup
Bread Crumbs – 1/4 cup
Red Chili Flakes – 1 teaspoon

Method:

1. Chop onion.
2. Thoroughly was the spinach leaves and squeeze out all the water. Chop them finely.
3. Make a vertical slit on each pepper, from the stem to the narrow tip of the pepper. Do not run the slit till the tip until the pepper opens up, leave about 1/2cm to the top. Keep them aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 400F/200C.
5. Heat olive oil and butter in a pan.
6. Add chopped onion and minced garlic. Saute until onion turns translucent.
7. Add sweet corn, saute until they turn soft.
8. Add chopped spinach. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the leaves wither. Ensure there is no water content oozed out from the spinach, left over in the pan. If there is, you need to saute until it evaporated, which will over-cook spinach. To avoid, in Step 2, drain out any water present in leaves after washing. Turn off the flame.
9. Allow the mixture to cool down for 10 minutes.
10. Meanwhile, place the peppers in the greased baking tray, and place in the pre-heated oven for 7-8 minutes. Remove the tray out from the oven.
11. Now, add bread crumbs, grated cheddar cheese and red chili flakes to the stuffing mixture. Mix well.
    
12. Using a spoon stuff the peppers with the stuffing mixture.
13. Place the peppers in the oven, cook for about 10 minutes.
14. Serve hot.