Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers

The cats are ticked that I've been eating vegetarian the past couple of weeks.  No particular reason, just haven't been feeling the need for meat every night.  Maybe when it starts to get cold.

Most of the stuffed-pepper recipes I found online include canned tomatoes.  After the whole thing with the risotto being too tomato-ey, I decided to do without.  It was plenty flavorful, and slightly sweet from the corn I substituted.  There is easily enough filling for four split-open peppers, and you'll probably have some left over.  The filling would make an excellent stuffing for poultry, as well.  I would have no qualms about serving this as a vegetarian entrée at Thanksgiving.  Leave off the cheese, and it's vegan.

4 red bell peppers
3/4 C dry quinoa
1/2 C dried black beans
1 C finely chopped red onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tb olive oil
4 crimini (baby portobello) mushrooms
1/4 C corn kernels
1/2 C chopped carrot
salt to taste
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 Tb grated Parmesan cheese

1.  Rinse & sort black beans.  Place in saucepan with 2 C water.  Soak for 6 hours or overnight.

2.  Drain and rinse beans.  Return to saucepan and add 2 cups fresh water and a touch of salt.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for 2 hours, drain, and set aside.  If you need to pre-soak your quinoa, this is a good time to do it.

3.  Bring quinoa, 1-1/2 C water, and a dash of salt to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

4.  While quinoa is simmering, sautée onions and garlic in olive oil in a large frying pan.  Discard stems of mushrooms and slice caps into thin slices.  Add to pan and continue to cook until mushrooms are soft. Add quinoa, black beans, corn, carrot, Italian seasoning, and about 1/2 tsp salt.  Combine over very low heat.  Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.  Remove filling from heat and set aside.

5.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Wash bell peppers.  Split in half lengthwise.  Discard stems, seeds, and ribs (those white membrane things).  Arrange peppers in a casserole with the cut ends up.  Fill each half with as much of the filling as it will hold.

6.  Bake for 45 minutes, until peppers start to look soft.  Sprinkle tops with Parmesan cheese and bake 10 minutes longer, until cheese browns.  Allow to sit a couple of minutes before serving.

Serves 4 as a main dish, 8 as a side

Difficulty rating  :-0