Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Cut off the lids from the peppers and reserve. Seed and derib the peppers. Cut a small slice from the bottom of each pepper so it will stand upright. Add the peppers and lids to the pot of boiling water and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Drain and let cool.

In a large bowl, Mix together the meat, egg, cheese, parsley, oregano, basil, onion, bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1 cup of the water. Knead the water into the meat mixture with your hands. Add another 1/2 cup water and continue to knead. As you knead, the bread crumbs will soften as they absorb the water. Add the remaining 1/2 cup water and knead again. By now the mixture should feel smooth, with no grittiness left, and have a very soft texture.

Season the insides of the peppers with salt and pepper. Spoon a little tomato sauce into the bottom of each pepper and divide the meat mixture among them. Place upright in a flameproof baking dish and pour the remaining tomato sauce over and around the peppers. Top each pepper with its pepper lid. Cover the dish tightly with a lid or foil lined with waxed paper or parchment paper. Bake until the peppers are soft and the filling has cooked through, about 1 hour.

Uncover the dish, remove the pepper lids, and dust the top of each pepper with about 1 teaspoon Gremolata. Turn the oven to broil and place the peppers under the broiler just until browned, about 1 minute. Replace the lids and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

For the Sauce:
Open the can of tomatoes and pour off the juice into a bowl. Use the lid to press against the tomatoes to extract as much juice as possible. Then use your hand to squeeze the tomatoes to a pulp. Reserve the juice and pulp separately and set the empty can aside.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat until hot. If using the jalapeno, tilt the pan to collect the oil in a little pool against the side and drop the jalapeno into the oil. Cook until light brown, about 1 minutes. Remove the jalapeno and reserve.

Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook briefly until light gold. Add the tomato juice and bring to a boil. Simmer rapidly for several minutes. Add the crushed tomato pulp. Then rinse the remaining pulp out of the can by filling it halfway with water and add that to the pan. Add the bay leaf, the jalapeno, if using, and salt and pepper to taste and return to a boil.

Add the dried tomatoes and stir. Lower the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until the mixture thickens and the tomatoes have turned an orange-red versus the pale blue=red they were straight from the can, about 30 minutes. Add the oregano halfway through the cooking.

Discard the bay leaf. Peel, seed, and mash the jalapeno with a spoonful of the sauce and pass at the table so diners can add as much heat they like to their plates.

NOTES : Original recipe called for 3 tbsp. olive oil.

Original recipe called for ground sirloin.

I dont know that youd need all the bread crumbs if you use ground turkey.

This recipe was originally posted to the MC-recipe list. See my notes for the lowfat changes. Ive not tried it but it sounds good. I think Id use red bell peppers though. Just personal preference. You could try a mixture of beef and turkey I suppose. Dont know what that would do to the fat content. And if you feel you just have to have some beef flavor, add a little beef base to the meat. Kristin

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