Cheesy Stuffed Peppers With Fig Ginger Port Wine Reduction

Ingredients:

8-10 small mini peppers, tops cut off, rinsed and insides hollowed out
2 T oil for greasing baking dish and rubbing on peppers
½ C cottage cheese
2 oz goat cheese
1 egg
1/3 C grated pecorino Romano cheese
½ C leftover white rice
1 t Salt and ½ t pepper
¼ C chopped packaged mission figs (not fresh)
2 T chopped candied ginger
1 T honey
1 T butter
Splash of champagne vinegar
¾ to 1 C port wine
Sriracha sauce to garnish

Direction:

• Mix all stuffing ingredients; cottage cheese to salt and pepper. Stuff peppers and lay in a shallow baking dish rubbed with 1 T of the oil. Then rub the rest of the oil on top. Cook in a 375 oven for 35-40 minutes, until the tops begin to blister.
• In a small sauté pan, melt the butter, and add the ginger and figs and let cook for about 1 minute or until warmed through and before the butter browns. Add the splash of champagne vinegar. Then add the port wine, and the honey. Stir, set on low and let it bubble and reduce down for about 15 minutes. It won’t be all the way thick but you’ll see some thickening as it reduces by half or more. Take off stove and let sit for about 15 minutes to thicken naturally.
• Remove the peppers and plate on a smear of Sriracha if desired. Cover with the reduction sauce, and garnish with a baby turnip green leaf. I served it with a spiced up meatball/burger.