Meatless Friday: Seafood and Orzo Stuffed Peppers

Karen Ullo cooks up a meatless meal bursting with Cajun/Creole flavor, and shares a bonus seasoning recipe too. Download our printable recipe card.

I’m a Cajun/Creole girl who married a Sicilian—a combination that makes for just as excellent a pairing in cuisine as it does in life. I made these with crawfish, but if you’re not lucky enough to live in Louisiana where they’re readily available, it would work just as well with shrimp or crab. You can also just make the stuffing and serve it as its own pasta dish if you’re not in the mood for peppers.

Seafood and Orzo Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

1 bell pepper per person, halved and with seeds removed
½ lb. orzo pasta, prepared according to package directions
8 oz. white or baby bella mushrooms, sliced
~10 asparagus spears, chopped to 1-inch pieces (I leave out the ends. They’re too tough.)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbs. oil
½ tsp. Italian seasoning
½ tsp. Creole seasoning*
12 oz. crawfish tail meat OR 12 oz. small shrimp, peeled and deveined, OR 8 oz. lump crab meat
½ tsp. Italian seasoning
½ tsp. Creole seasoning
1 tbs. oil
½ cup sundried tomatoes without oil
10.5 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup chicken broth
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tbs. lemon juice
Slices of fresh mozzarella cheese (one per pepper half)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 while you prepare the stuffing.

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan, then add the other ingredients. Sauté until the mushrooms begin to caramelize. Remove from the pan with a strainer spoon and pour out any remaining liquid.

In the same pan, heat another tbs. of oil, then add seafood and seasoning. Sauté until warm (if pre-cooked) or cooked through (if raw.)

Add to the pan: orzo, cooked vegetables, sundried tomatoes, soup, Parmesan, chicken broth, parsley, and lemon juice.

Stir to combine. Cook until heated through.

Spray a baking pan (or two) with cooking spray and lay the peppers inside. Spoon the orzo mixture into each pepper, as full as possible without spilling. Top each with a slice of fresh mozzarella cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown. Serve any extra stuffing on the side.

Enjoy!

*Any time my recipes call for creole seasoning, I like to give you the recipe for it, just in case. There are plenty of commercial brands available, but this comes straight from my Creole grandmother, and it’s better. 