Golden Door Zazen Rice and Crabmeat Stuffed Mini-Peppers

By Mimiavocado

How about these pretty little peppers stuffed with rice and crabmeat, and topped with sharp cheddar cheese!  The rice is not just any rice though.  It’s a special rice blend developed in a collaboration of former Golden Door Chef Michel Stroot and current Chef Greg Frey Jr. Their new line of artisan foods include rice and soup mixes with outstanding flavor that can be used at home for creative and healthy meals.  For this recipe I used their Zazen Rice Medley, including Organic brown Basmati rice, organic black lentils, dried shiitake mushrooms, Nori dried seaweed, organic silvered almonds, organic crushed red pepper, organic dried onion flakes, sea salt, and dried red chili flakes.

“The oldest recorded use of Shiitake mushrooms dates back to AD 199 at the time of Emperor Chuai of Japan. It is believed to prevent pre-mature aging. An excellent dish to accompany Roast Chicken, Grilled Fish, Sauteed Shrimp or Tofu. Try it with steamed Broccoli, Spinach, or Asparagus.”

Golden Door

Our avocado farm is not far from The Golden Door Spa Resort in Southern California.  In fact, I drive by several times a week.  The beautiful Japanese-inspired grounds are home to one of the top yoga and spa retreats in the world.  They offer a selection of artisan foods with the same attention to health and wellness, sourcing only the finest grains and legumes, prioritizing non-GMO blends, soy-free, gluten-free and vegan.

I received a gift box of Golden Door artisan foods recently in anticipation of the EatWriteRetreat conference for food bloggers later this month in Chicago.   We were offered the opportunity to participate in a recipe contest using products from the gift box. I used the Zazen Rice Medley to create these stuffed mini-peppers, which I planned to serve as an appetizer, but they actually became our lunch!

First I prepared the Zazen Rice Medley according the the instructions on the package and let the rice cool.  Then I cut the peppers in half, removed the seeds, measured the crabmeat and chopped some green onions.

I mixed the rice, crabmeat, and green onions together, filled the mini-peppers and baked them at 325 degrees for 15 minutes. I sliced some extra sharp cheddar cheese very thinly,  placed the pieces on top of the baked mini-peppers and put them back into the oven until the cheese had melted.  That’s it!  

I love how colorful are these peppers, and the flavors of the Zazen Rice Medley pair well with the crabmeat and cheddar cheese.  The slivered almonds in the rice add a nice crunch too!

Golden Door Zazen Rice and Crabmeat Stuffed Mini-Peppers   Author: Mimi Holtz Recipe type: Appetizer Cuisine: American Prep time:  15 mins Cook time:  17 mins Total time:  32 mins Save Print The flavors of Golden Door Zazen Rice Medley pair perfectly with crabmeat and cheddar cheese in these tasty stuffed mini-peppers. Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 package Golden Door Zazen Rice, prepared according to the instructions on the package
  • ½ cup lump crabmeat
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 2-3 oz. extra sharp white cheddar cheese
  • 12 mini-peppers, cut in half with seeds removed
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Coat a baking sheet with olive oil.
  3. Prepare the rice according to the instructions on the package and set aside to cool.
  4. Cut the mini-peppers in half and removed the seeds and membrane.
  5. When the rice has cooled, add the crabmeat and chopped green onions.
  6. Fill each mini-pepper half with some 1-2 tablespoons of rice and crab mixture and place on a baking sheet.
  7. Bake the mini-peppers for 15 minutes at 325 degrees.
  8. Cut 2-3 oz. of extra sharp white cheddar cheese into very thin slices
  9. Remove the tray of peppers from the oven .and top each pepper with a thin slice of cheddar cheese.
  10. Return the peppers to the oven until the cheese has melted.
  11. Serve warm.
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Disclosure:  The Golden Door provided a gift box of artisan foods to use as ingredients for a recipe contest.  I was not required to enter the contest or write this post, and I have not been compensated for this post.