Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Peppers of all shapes and colors are still on offer at autumn markets. These are far superior to the fleshy, uniform supermarket peppers that look pretty but have very little flavor. I’ve been buying them by the bagful and stuffing them with all sorts of fillings, some traditional, most not.

In Eastern Europe and the Balkans small, thin-fleshed single-tipped green peppers are grilled and filled with cheese, then dipped in flour and fried. I spent a summer in Croatia years ago and watched my friend Zoran’s mother make these by the dozen, day after day. In Provence the stuffed peppers usually have a filling based on bread crumbs, and in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East the filling usually involves rice.

I decided to play around with stuffed pepper recipes and made some delicious, nontraditional fillings with red rice and vegetables (Swiss chard in one recipe, fennel in another), and with quinoa. I combined the quinoa with feta to stretch my otherwise traditional Balkan filling for fried small peppers. In some of my recipes I grilled the peppers before I stuffed them, and in one I poached them in a sweet and sour marinade and served the stuffed peppers cold.

The peppers make a very nutritious home for the delicious fillings. Bell peppers are an excellent source of Vitamin C as well as a wide range of carotenoids like lycopene, beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin. They are also a good source of some of the sulfur compounds we usually associate with cruciferous vegetables like cabbage and broccoli.

Stuffed Roasted Yellow Peppers or Red Peppers in Tomato Sauce: The roasted peppers make a nice contrast in color and flavor to the sweet tomato sauce.

Fried Small Peppers Filled With Feta and Quinoa: A take on a classic Balkan dish made more substantial with quinoa or bulgur.

Peppers Stuffed With Rice, Zucchini and Herbs: Delicious stuffed peppers that can be served hot or at room temperature.

Stuffed Peppers With Red Rice, Chard and Feta: A hearty filling that works well with red peppers.

Sweet and Sour Peppers Stuffed With Rice or Bulgur and Fennel: Peppers that taste great filled or unfilled.