Paleo Stuffed Peppers: Shrimp, Cabbage, Onion, Fennel, Apple, Tomato & Ras al Hanout

Contains:  Shellfish, nightshades.  Is:  Gluten-free, Whole30, paleo, keto, .

Time to stuff some food with more food once again!  

In the mood for a grain-free, Paleo meal treat here.  I was able to find Gulf-caught shrimp for this purpose.  I won’t purchase farmed shrimp for cooking (toxic both to the shrimp, the diners, and the workers), and while I am still dubious that all the British Petroleum waste is out of the Gulf ecosystem, I am simply limiting how much of this I still eat. 

To be very honest, I think my issue with plunking rice in my stuffed peppers is largely based on my dislike of “mushy rice” in any form – risotto, congee, rice pudding…. because, YES, you can season your rice just as you can season any ingredients that end up being stuffed into something!  For me, some things work mushy, some just… don’t.  Sorry.  

Took me a few moments to decide on my seasoning profile – there are so many you can use. 

As far as the Ras al Hanout seasoning goes:  you can purchase this premade, or if needed, you can follow the link to my recipe for it.  

Prep Time:  15 minutes.
Cook Time: 35 minutes total max.
Rest Time:  Not needed.
Serves:  1 bell pepper per serving, enough here to make 4 stuffed peppers.
Cuisine: I sometimes make ’em up as they happen.
Leftovers: Yes.

Stuffed Pepper:  Shrimp, Cabbage, Onion, Fennel, Apple, Tomato

INGREDIENTS:

• 3-4 bell peppers, any color, medium-large. The stuffing below should fill 4 peppers, depending on pepper size. 
• 1/2 medium/small onion, diced.
• 4 ounces / 115 grams shredded, then diced cabbage.  (I used Savoy, I simply recommend you don’t use red cabbage, due to aesthetic color bleeding of the cabbage.)
• 2 ounces / 55 grams or so of fennel bulb, chopped.
• 1/2 apple, de-seeded and diced.  
• 2 or three grape tomatoes, sliced in half longitudinally.
• 1 tablespoon ras al hanout seasoning. 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt.
• 5-6 ounces /145-170 grams shrimp, de-shelled and de-veined.  Chopped into approximately 1/4 inch segments.   
• Juice from 1/4 lemon.
• 3 or 4 grape tomatoes, sliced in half longitudinally.

METHOD:

Pre-heat oven to 350 F / 175 C.  

First, you will want to sauté your onion, cabbage and fennel.  Heat up a skillet and add the butter/cooking oil.  When this sizzles, add those three aforementioned vegetables.  Sauté for about 5 minutes, until they soften.  However, allow some crunch to remain.  

Remove from the heat.  

Gently stir in the apple and the grape tomato sections.  Add the ras al hanout and the salt, and mix briefly.  Taste and adjust those seasonings as needed.  

Add the shrimp, and the lemon juice, mixing gently.  

Per serving, take one  bell pepper.  Remove the stem and cut a circle around where the stem used to be.  Reach in – you may need to use small tongs — and remove all the seeds and most of the ribbing, rinsing the rest out with water.  Place each pepper into a cooking pan, and proceed to stuff each pepper accordingly.  You can compact the stuffing in, but allow some “breathing” space.  

Place in the pre-heated oven, and bake for 25-30 minutes.  Remove and serve!  

As for any stuffing that doesn’t fit in the peppers:  Just saute them up and enjoy as a simple side!  Maybe consider it chef’s personal treat?  

Yes, I just started adding “Keto” as a food category (tag) here.  

This recipe is being shared at:  

• Fiesta Friday with co-Host Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.
• What’s for Dinner?  Sunday Link-Up.  
• Full Plate Thursday.