When we imagine food served at Kensington Palace, we might picture elaborate French recipes, silver platters and extravagant desserts. Yet one of Princess Diana’s regular choices was something much simpler: a stuffed red pepper.
According to Darren McGrady, who worked as Diana’s personal chef for four years, stuffed peppers and aubergines frequently appeared on her menu. The princess preferred lighter food and asked her chef to adapt traditional dishes by reducing their fat content. While Princes William and Harry might eat roast chicken with potatoes, Diana would often choose poached chicken, dry-baked potatoes or vegetable-based meals.
Her stuffed peppers, however, were far from plain. They combined roasted red peppers with rice, mushrooms, courgette, tomatoes, herbs, smoked bacon and two kinds of cheese—a comforting dish that could feel equally at home at a family dinner or in Kensington Palace.
Princess Diana’s Stuffed Peppers
This is an adapted version of Darren McGrady’s published recipe.
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 medium red bell peppers
60 ml olive oil
½ cup roughly chopped onion
1 cup thinly sliced button mushrooms
1 courgette, diced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 cup cooked rice, cooled
½ cup water
½ chicken or vegetable stock cube
4 slices smoked bacon, cooked until crisp and chopped
1 teaspoon shredded fresh basil
115 g mozzarella, diced
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Slice the tops from the peppers and remove the seeds and white membranes. If necessary, trim a very thin piece from the bottom of each pepper so it can stand upright.
Arrange the peppers on a baking tray, drizzle them with olive oil and roast for approximately 25 minutes, until they begin to soften. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool slightly.
Pour the oil collected on the tray into a frying pan. Add the onion, mushrooms, courgette and oregano, season with salt and pepper, and cook over high heat until the vegetables start to soften.
Add the tomatoes, cooked rice, water and stock cube. Simmer the mixture for about five minutes, then taste and adjust the seasoning.
Stir in the crispy bacon, basil and mozzarella. Divide the filling between the peppers and sprinkle Parmesan over the top. Return them to the oven for around 15 minutes, until the filling is hot and the cheese has melted.
One Dish, Countless Interpretations
Stuffed peppers do not belong to just one culinary tradition. Variations can be found throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas, changing according to local ingredients and family recipes.
Across Central and Eastern Europe, peppers are commonly filled with minced meat and rice and cooked in tomato sauce. In Balkan cuisine, punjene paprike remain a familiar home-cooked meal. Greek gemista may contain rice, herbs and vegetables, while other versions use lentils, seafood, couscous or several kinds of cheese.
Even the pepper itself can change. Some recipes use sweet bell peppers, while others begin with poblano or other chilli varieties. The filling may be rich and meaty or completely plant-based.
Perhaps that adaptability explains the dish’s lasting appeal. A stuffed pepper can be inexpensive or luxurious, rustic or elegant—and, in Princess Diana’s case, entirely suitable for lunch at Kensington Palace.
The account and original recipe come from Princess Diana’s former personal chef, Darren McGrady. Read McGrady’s story and original recipe
