Couscous Stuffed Red Peppers

A fresh late-summer dinner. Red peppers are stuffed with a delicious mix of lemony kale, mint, pine nuts, and cilantro. Vegan, gluten free option. Im not always good at simple.Looking back at some of recipes Ive posted recently, I realized that I heavily rely on my Vitamix and my food processor. To me, these things

A fresh late-summer dinner. Red peppers are stuffed with a delicious mix of lemony kale, mint, pine nuts, and cilantro. Vegan, gluten free option.

summer / favorite

I’m not always good at simple. Looking back at some of recipes I’ve posted recently, I realized that I heavily rely on my Vitamix and my food processor. To me, these things are not a hassle, but “old me”, (in a previous life, I never used to cook), would completely skip over a recipe if it asked me to drag out my food processor. Even if i could find all of the pieces for it, I wasn’t interested in the mess and the cleanup.

So the other night, I set out to make something that didn’t require fancy ingredients or any kind of gadget. This stumped me for a few minutes and then I revisited Nigel Slater’s book, Tender… which I think is the perfect book when you need “less-is-more” kind of inspiration. His recipes don’t require exact measuring, and they serve as more of a guide than a precise process.

In lazy late-summer spirit, I settled on this herb-packed roasted red pepper recipe with  yogurt sauce. I realize the ingredient list here doesn’t look super short, but I promise it goes quickly. And feel free to put away the measuring spoons… it’s ok eyeball your ingredients and alter things as you wish.

adapted from Nigel Slater’s Tender

5.0 from 1 reviews

Couscous Stuffed Red Peppers

  PrintPrep time 20 minsCook time 30 minsTotal time 50 mins Author: Serves: 2-3IngredientsFor the yogurt sauce:
  • 1 individual-sized container plain yogurt (about ½ cup)
  • ½ garlic clove, minced
  • ½ lemon, zest and juice
  • Splash agave
  • Pinch paprika
  • Mint, small handful chopped
  • Cilantro, small handful chopped
  • Sea salt and fresh black pepper
For the stuffed peppers:
  • 2 red bell peppers, halved, seeds and ribbing removed
  • ¾ cup Israeli couscous (pre-cooked), or quinoa or other grain
  • 3 scallions, white and green parts, sliced
  • ½ teaspoon ground sweet paprika
  • ½ garlic clove, minced
  • ½ lemon, zest and juice
  • 2 big handfuls baby greens (I had baby kale)
  • Mint, small handful chopped
  • Cilantro, handful chopped
  • ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted, chopped
  • ¼ cup dried currants
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Pinch red pepper flakes
  • Sea salt and fresh black pepper
Instructions
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Make the yogurt sauce: In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, garlic, lemon zest and juice, agave, paprika, mint, cilantro, and pinches of salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
  • Place the peppers cut side open on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 15 minutes, or until they begin to soften.
  • Cook the couscous in a pot of salted boiling water until al dente (about 8-10 minutes). When it’s finished, drain and set aside. Toss it in a bit of olive oil so the little pearls don’t stick together.
  • In a large skillet over medium heat, pour a few splashes of olive oil and toss in the scallions, paprika, garlic, and pinches of salt and pepper. Stir a bit, then add the lemon zest and greens. Stir some more to let the greens wilt down a bit. Add a big squeeze of lemon juice and stir in the herbs, toasted pine nuts, currants, and red pepper flakes. Add the couscous. Mix together until the herbs and greens are just wilted and everything is combined. Taste and adjust seasonings. (If it’s a bit too bold and spicy at this point, that’s ok – once you bake it with the sweet peppers, the flavors will dial down).
  • Fill the peppers. If all of the filling doesn’t fit, it’s ok, just set the remainder aside and scoop it on top at the end.
  • Bake, uncovered, for about 10 -12 minutes. Alternatively, if you like your peppers much softer, cover them with foil and bake longer. I prefer my cooked peppers to still have a little bite. I pre-baked the peppers so the herbs in the filling wouldn’t burn – I find, unless you cover your stuffed peppers with a layer of cheese, grain fillings become a bit dry if cooked the entire way with the peppers.
  • Remove peppers from oven. Spoon on any of the remaining couscous mixture. Top with the yogurt sauce and any extra herbs.
  • The sauce is also delicious on some whole grain toasted baguette, which I served with our meal.
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