What to use instead of bell peppers
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Sweet bulk that holds its shape over high heat
Thick walls hold water in the cell and stay in distinct pieces through a hot pan, so the edges caramelise while the strip stays whole.
PoblanoRan out
1 large poblano per bell pepper
A low hum of heat arrives and the flavour goes greener. Thinner walls, so it softens about two minutes sooner.
Cubanelle or Italian frying pepperRan out
1:1 by weight
Sweeter and thinner-walled. Browns faster and goes limp, so add it in the last three minutes.
Anaheim or Hatch chileRan out
1 chile per bell pepper
Grassy, mild heat and a looser skin that peels back in the pan. Softens faster than a bell.
Zucchini, salted 15 minutes and patted dryRan out
Match by weight
No sweetness and far more water. Skip the salting step and the pan steams instead of searing.
What doesn't work: Jarred roasted red peppers. They are already cooked soft and packed in brine, so they melt into the pan and turn the dish wet and sour instead of giving you sweet strips with an edge on them.
Roasted flesh blitzed into a red paste or dip
Roasting collapses the cell walls and drives off water, which concentrates the sugar into a thick sweet pulp that carries the rest of the paste.
Jarred roasted red peppers, drained and patted dryRan out
One 12 oz jar drained per 3 fresh peppers roasted
Softer and saltier, and they carry vinegar from the brine, so cut the lemon back by half. Wet ones loosen the dip.
Piquillo peppersRan out
1:1 by weight, drained
Sweeter with a faint smoky edge and less water in them, so the dip sets thicker.
Poblano, roasted and peeledRan out
1:1 by weight
Darker, greener flavour with a low heat under it. The paste goes brown-green rather than red.
What doesn't work: Raw red pepper blitzed straight in. The skins stay as gritty flecks and the flesh is watery and tastes green, so the dip never thickens and never gets the roasted sweetness the whole thing is built on.
Hollow shell that stands up and holds a filling
The walls are rigid enough to stay upright in a hot oven and thick enough to survive forty-five minutes without folding at the base.
Poblano, roasted and peeled firstRan out
1 large poblano per bell pepper
Thinner walls slump after about 35 minutes, and the skin peels back on its own if you skip the roast.
Zucchini, halved and hollowedRan out
1 medium zucchini per bell pepper
Cooks in half the time and releases water into the dish, so salt the shells first and bake uncovered.
Beefsteak tomato, hollowed and drainedRan out
1 large tomato per bell pepper
Much wetter and sweeter, and the base spreads out, so pack them into a tight dish and take 15 minutes off.
Acorn squash halvesRan out
Half a small squash per bell pepper, roasted 20 minutes first
Sweet and dense, and it needs the head start or the shell is still raw when the filling is done.
What doesn't work: Long sweet peppers or banana peppers. The walls are too thin to stand on their own, so they split down one side and dump the filling into the dish inside twenty minutes.