The farmers’ market is chock full of wonderful, fresh ,local vegetables. Green peppers and corn are at their peak. So, when I came across a hundred-year-old recipe for Baked Corn in Green Peppers, I decided to give it a try.
I’ve made stuffed peppers numerous times over the years; but, until I saw this recipe, I never thought about stuffing the peppers with a creamy baked corn mixture. This recipe is a tasty stuffed pepper variation. The corn and green peppers work well together.
Here’s the original recipe:
This is a nice recipe, but it needed some tweaking. I think that green peppers were generally much smaller a hundred years ago than they are today. When I made this recipe, I used some medium-sized green peppers which I found at the farmers’ market. They were much smaller than most green peppers sold in supermarkets. Even though the peppers that I used were smaller than most, the recipe only made enough of the corn mixture to fill three green peppers, not six. When I updated the recipe, I indicated that three green peppers should be used rather than six.
I think that this recipe may be missing an ingredient. Whenever I have made Baked Corn in the past, the recipe called for eggs. I don’t think that Baked Corn will properly set without eggs, so I added an egg when I made the recipe. Even with the added egg, it took more than an hour for the baked corn in the green peppers to set, so when I updated the recipe, I indicated that two eggs should be used.
I wasn’t sure how to baste the corn and pepper with water and butter while they baked. Until the baked corn was set and became firm, the top of the Baked Corn in Green Peppers was very wet and did not need any additional liquid. I ended up pouring hot water and melted butter around the green peppers in the baking dish, though I’m not sure that is what the recipe author intended (and I don’t think it was needed, so I didn’t include basting when I updated the recipe).
When I have previously made stuffed peppers, I cut the tops off them and removed the seeds and membranes prior to cooking. I then put them in boiling water, and simmered for 5 minutes or so. I’m not sure why this recipe calls for pouring boiling water over the green peppers before the top, membranes, and skin are removed. That said, it worked fine to scald the green peppers by putting boiling water on the entire peppers. After the stuffed peppers were baked, the peppers were more wrinkled that some other stuffed peppers I have made in the past, but they still had a nice texture. Perhaps this was due to the scalding process, but I’m not sure.
I’m not sure why the recipe author said to “rub off the skin” of the peppers. It sounds like a lot of work, and that it would be easy to tear the green peppers in the process. It is very important to very carefully remove the green peppers’ membranes and seeds, since the corn mixture is very juicy before it is baked, and it would be problematic if the liquid leaked from a tear in a pepper.
I used milk rather than light cream when I made this recipe.
The corn from two fairly large ears made approximately 2 cups of corn.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Baked Corn in Green Peppers
3 medium green peppers
water
2 cups fresh corn (the corn and pulp cut from 2 previously cooked large ears of corn) or use 1 16-ounce can of creamed corn
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk or light cream
2 eggs
Step 1. Preheat oven to 374° F.
Step 2. Put enough water in a saucepan to fill it about 2/3’s full. Heat water to a boil, then remove from heat and add the green peppers; cover pan, and let sit for 5 minutes.
Step 3. Remove peppers from the hot water, and dunk in cold water to cool enough to handle. Cut the tops off the scalded peppers, then carefully remove the seeds and membranes. Use care not to tear the skin of the peppers.
Step 4. In the meantime, melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour and salt. Gradually stir in milk or light cream. Heat to boiling, while stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Step 5. Put eggs in a small bowl; stir until smooth. Place a small amount (approximately 1 – 2 tablespoons) of hot milk/cream mixture into dish with egg; stir quickly. (The egg is first combined with a little of the hot mixture to prevent it from turning into scrambled eggs when introduced into the hot combination.) Add egg mixture to the remaining hot mixture in the saucepan; stir. Add the corn and stir.
Step 6. Set the prepared green peppers in a baking dish, and spoon the corn mixture into the green pepper cavities to fill them
Step 7. Bake in oven uncovered until the corn mixture is firm and set (approximately 30 – 40 minutes.)
I remember my mom cooking corn (or frying it) and seasoning it with small chunks of cut up green peppers. We always had a lot of sugar corn and she looked for different ways to prepare it.
The recipe looks really good. I think I would use the canned corn…the lazy way. 🙂
What a neat idea. I happen to have an abundance of both!