Stuffed Italian Frying Peppers

Stuffed Italian Frying Peppers are a traditional recipe made with Marconi peppers – long, narrow, sweet Italian frying peppers with a distinctive smoky flavor plus a bread stuffing.

📝 Ingredients

• 8-10 Italian frying peppers such as Marconi or Cubanelle (about 1/2 pound)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 8 ounces in weight of Italian bread, crusts removed and cut into cubes
• 3 cups Italian tomato sauce, divided (see here) or purchased
• 25 pitted oil cured black olives, chopped
• 1 tablespoon anchovy paste or 6 anchovy filets mashed fine
• 1/2 cup Romano cheese grated, plus more for serving
• 1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil for frying

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Wash peppers, trim off tops and using a teaspoon, dig out seeds and ribs. Rinse and let dry.
2. 2In a cast iron skillet, over medium heat, place the two tablespoons of olive oil and once hot, place cubed bread into oil and toss and cook to brown, about 5-10 minutes. Remove toasted bread and any oil to a large bowl. The skillet will be used later in this recipe.
3. 3Pour one cup of tomato sauce over the cooked bread and squish it into the bread with your hands or use a heavy whip. The mixture should be completely mixed to a mushy finish.
4. 4Add olives, anchovy paste, Romano, garlic, basil, parsley and pepper. Stir to combine.
5. 5Divide filling between the peppers, pressing the stuffing in to the end. OK if a little hangs out.
6. 6Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (Note: most Italian pepper recipes don’t finish in the oven and are cooked entirely on the stove top. I think they get too dark doing it that way so I cook half on the stove to brown and finish in the oven to cook through.)
7. 7Using the same cast iron skillet as before, heat the ¼ cup of olive oil over medium heat.
8. 8Dry the outside of the peppers of any water so they don’t splatter when cooking.
9. 9Once the oil is hot, cook the peppers in the hot oil in two batches. Turn and cook until each batch is browned, about 15 minutes each. You may still need a splatter screen.
10. 10Pour one cup of sauce into a casserole dish large enough to fit all of the peppers.
11. 11As each batch is cooked, transfer to the prepared casserole dish and once the dish is full, cover with the remaining cup of sauce.
12. 12Bake uncovered for about 15 minutes or until heated through.
13. 13Serve with additional grated Romano cheese.