Ang Pompano: This is one of those recipes that sounds a little strange until you try it. In our house, we call it Sausage and Peppers Inside Out, although I’ll admit the name doesn’t make much sense. Usually, sausage and peppers means sausage cooked with peppers. In this case, the sausage and rice are stuffed inside the peppers, and the peppers are browned in a pan until they develop a delicious crust.
My wife, Annette, has always made these, and she showed me how easy it is to prepare them. Our kids came up with the name, and somehow, it stuck.
Ingredients
- 4 red bell peppers
- 3 links Italian sausage, casings removed
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup uncooked rice
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- A few fresh basil leaves, chopped
- A few sprigs of parsley, chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Optional
- Grated Parmigiano cheese, to taste
- Mozzarella cheese, for melting on top
Directions
1. Prepare the sausage.
Remove the sausage from its casings and chop or break it into small pieces. Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it up as it cooks.
2. Add the onion.
Add the chopped onion to the sausage and cook until the onion is soft and translucent.
3. Prepare the peppers.
Clean the peppers, removing the stems, seeds, and membranes. Cut each pepper in half lengthwise. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pepper halves for about 10 minutes, or until they have softened but still hold their shape. Drain and set aside.
4. Cook the rice.
Cook the rice according to the package directions.
5. Make the filling.
Add the cooked rice to the sausage and onion mixture. Stir in the chopped basil and parsley, then season with salt and pepper. If you're using grated Parmigiano, add it now.
Transfer the sausage mixture to a bowl and allow it to cool. Once it has cooled, stir in the beaten eggs.
6. Stuff the peppers.
Spoon the sausage and rice mixture into the softened pepper halves, filling them generously.
7. Brown the peppers.
Heat a little oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Carefully place the stuffed peppers face down, with the filling against the pan. Cook until the filling develops a golden-brown crust.
8. Turn and finish cooking.
Carefully turn the peppers over and continue cooking until the peppers are nicely browned and the filling is heated through.
If you're using mozzarella, sprinkle it over the tops of the stuffed peppers and cover the pan briefly, allowing the cheese to melt.
Serve hot and enjoy!
Readers, what about you? Do you have any silly nicknames for your favorite dishes?
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And don't forget Simmering Secrets, the second book in the series, will drop November 3.
Ang Pompano is a mystery author, editor, publisher, and blogger. He writes the Blue Palmetto Detective Agency series and the Reluctant Food Columnist series, both published by Level Best Books. In addition to his writing, Ang is a co-founder of Crime Spell Books and serves as co-editor of the Best New England Crime Stories anthology. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Annette, an artist, and their rescue dog, Alfie.
Diet of Death
by Ang Pompano
The first in the Reluctant Food Columnist Series
Betty Ann Green is a beloved culinary icon…who doesn’t exist. She is the brilliant, beautiful illusion created by two unlikely collaborators. Behind the façade is Quincy Lazzaro, a culinarily challenged writer whose witty, sharp prose is the public face of Betty, while those flawless, genius recipes are all thanks to his octogenarian neighbor, Mary Ticarelli.
When the arrogant diet guru, Dr. Alan Tolzer, inventor of the Westport Diet, demands a face-to-face interview, Quincy reluctantly steps in as Betty’s frontman, only for Tolzer to drop dead. The police call it natural causes, but Quincy knows better. He sees it as the investigative break he’s been waiting for.
Now, caught between a crime-solving grandma, a no-nonsense detective girlfriend, and a killer who may be one step ahead, Quincy must unravel the mystery before the killer strikes again.
Buy Link
Simmering Secrets
by
Ang Pompano
Book Two in the Reluctant Food Columnist Series
Coming November 3, 2026
When celebrity chef Connie Langston collapses dead during a glittering anniversary gala at the prestigious Langston Culinary Arts Academy, struggling investigative reporter Quincy Lazzaro suspects there’s more on the menu than champagne and truffle risotto.
Unfortunately, Quincy has problems of his own. He’s secretly ghostwriting a wildly successful food column under the fake name Betty Ann Green, dodging anonymous texts from someone threatening to expose him, and trying to save his friends’ beloved South Norwalk luncheonette from ruthless developers. Now, against the warnings of the police and his detective girlfriend, Quincy finds himself pulled into a world of celebrity chefs, hidden rivalries, illegal luxury ingredients, and private dinners where the ultra-wealthy will pay fortunes to consume the forbidden.
With the help of his sharp-tongued elderly neighbor Mary Ticcarelli, Quincy uncovers a web of simmering secrets stretching from elite culinary circles to dangerous underground supply networks tied to powerful people who will kill to protect their appetites.
As the bodies pile up and the anonymous watcher closes in, Quincy must decide how far he’s willing to go for the truth before his own carefully constructed life boils over.
Perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Carl Hiaasen, and culinary mysteries with bite, Simmering Secrets serves up murder, dark humor, found family, and a generous helping of Connecticut coastal charm.
When It’s Time for Leaving
by Ang Pompano
The first in the Blue Palmetto Detective Agency Series
Buy Link
Al DeLucia walked away from the police—and his past. But when his long-lost father leaves him a detective agency in Savannah, Al finds himself trapped between family secrets and a murder on the agency’s dock. Partnered with Maxine Brophy, a fierce detective who doesn’t trust him, Al is pulled into a deadly search through Savannah and the Okefenokee Swamp—where the truth about the case, and his father, may cost him everything.
Blood Ties and Deadly Lies
by Ang Pompano
Book Two in the Blue Palmetto Detective Agency Series
Buy Link
Al DeLucia returns to Sachem Creek expecting a kayak race and a chance to confront his childhood bully, Abe Cromwell. Instead, he finds a dead lawyer, a web of deceit, and Abe claiming they’re brothers by DNA. Reluctantly joined by Maxine Brophy, his formidable partner and girlfriend, Al dives into a murder investigation that exposes land swindles, hidden maps, and buried family secrets. In a town where the past won’t stay buried, Al must face truths that could upend everything.
Snakeberry: Best New England Crime Stories 2025
Edited by
Christine Bagley, Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, and Leslie Wheeler
BUY LINK
Every year the anthology brings welcome surprises and satisfactions, and this year is no different, featuring stories by 21 of New England’s best crime writers.
Includes “Minnie the Air Raid Warden” by Ang Pompano.
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