Of sweets, spices and going with the "currant" : Peppers stuffed with lamb sausage

Maybe somebody out there knows: has there been a problem with Zante grapes, the grapes that are used to make dried currants? Annalena asks because, if you have been following her capers, you know that she has had trouble holding onto hers. So, she went out, dutifully checking all of her favorite shops for currants.

None to be found. None on her favorite mail order sites. NOWHERE. Finally, she found some , buried under other stuff, in a large produce store, but what in the name of the Madonna is going on? No currants? JEEZ.

Well, finally having them in hand, Annalena had the last ingredient she needed to make a variation on stuffed peppers. I must tell you, ragazzi, this dish is WONDERFUL. It goes into the "yes, there's some work involved" school, but the results are so good, so savory so all around terrific, that you simply MUST MAKE THIS!!!! Not much small talk today because of the work you're going to need to do. Save your strength.

Here we go. First, you have to have a cup of cooked rice ready. Now, if you are a smart cook, when you prepare rice, you should always prepare extra. It does keep for awhile in the refrigerator and, what no one seems to realize, is that you can freeze cooked rice. Did you know that? I bet even Sue didn't know it. But yes, you can. Let it cool, and then freeze it in small containers. In our house, leftover rice always finds a use somewhere, even if it's incorporated into bread.

OK, so you have your cup of rice. If you also happen to have about half a cup of left over cooked greens, even better. Chop them up and mix them with the rice. And if you don't have the greens left over, look for something else that will give a green note to things, be it frozen peas (which you froze when they were in season...), or something like that. This is going to be part of your filling. Put it aside for a minute though, while you get to the next step.

You need six big, beautiful red peppers. You really do need the red ones. The dish will work with other peppers, but for some reason, the red ones JUST TASTE BETTER here. Cut about a quarter of the top of the pepper off, get rid of the stem, and chop the remaining pepper flesh. TOss it into a pan, with a cup of chopped onion, and about 1/3 cup of olive oil. While this sautes, clean the seeds and stems out of the peppers, and then stand them in a greased baking dish, standing up.

When the onions and peppers have softened, add in the rice and greens, and also add three tablespoons of those alusive currants, and the same quantity of pine nutes. Also add a scant tablespoon of ground cumin. This may sound like a lot, but it's not. You're going to have a lot of filling here. Add salt to taste.

Take that pan off the stove, and toss in half a cup of red wine, keeping our rules for what wine we cook with in mind. Here's the fun part. You need a pound of merquez sausage. A primer here: merquez is lamb sausage, and from what Annalena can tell, Morocco and/or Algeria have the right to say that they made it first. It became popular in France, and thus made its way to the rest of the world. As with all sausages, there are different degrees of spiciness in the sausage. Find one you like. I prefer it a bit spicier, but you may wish for a milder one. There are lots of good brands available, and if your farmers market has someone who vends lamb, I bet you that they have it too.

You're not really interested here, in the sausage "per se," but in the filling. So, split the casings and get the meat out into the mix you already made (Saint Lucy Carmichael used to say she could get the meat out of the sausage without breaking the casing. If you are that good, go for it. Annalena used her knife).

Sausage fillings are packed to different degrees of tightness, so you may have to work a bit to break up the meat, but break it up you must, so that it integrates with the rest of the ingredients you have mixed together.

Smell this. It's wonderful, isn't it? Now, start filling those peppers, and be generous. You've got plenty. Use up all the filling, and then put a slice of lemon on top of each pepper. Now move the whole dish to the oven, preheated to 350, and let it cook for an hour. If you like softer peppers, you could add half a cup of water to the pan as well.

THe cumin, and the spice in the merquez, will make your home smell wonderful, and you will have produced a very rich, very filling dish. One of these peppers is enough for even the biggest appetite.

If you are concerned about the spicing, then mix up some yogurt and lemon juice, and spoon that over the peppers, or make it available to the more timid of the eaters you are serving.

These are NOT good cold, so if you plan on eating leftovers, do plan on warming them.

So, when someone tells you to "stuff it," do what they say.