STUFFED PEPPERS

This recipe fills me with warming memories of Greece. I love recipes like this as you can pretty much put anything in them.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Olive oil

4 large capsicum (peppers)

2 onions peeled, sliced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

2 large tomatoes, roughly diced

100g quinoa, cracked wheat or rice

50g olives, stone removed and roughly chopped

100g greens, spinach, rocket, kale or silver beet, roughly chopped

½ tsp fresh thyme leaves

500ml vegetable stock

200g Feta cheese, crumbled

100g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat oven 190C

Halve the peppers lengthways, keeping the stalk on. Carefully scoop out the seeds and any white membrane and discard.

In a suitable sized heavy-based fry pan add 2 tablespoons oil, add the onion and garlic. Cook over a moderate heat until the onions have softened and sweetened (about 5-10 minutes). Add quinoa and toast lightly in the onion and garlic. Add the tomatoes and toss through with the quinoa etc.

Add 1 cup stock and allow the water and juice to absorb into the quinoa (8-10 minutes).

Add the olives, greens and thyme. Mix well to combine.

Remove from the heat and finish with the feta, parsley and check for seasoning, adjust if necessary.

Carefully stuff the capsicums with your quinoa filling and place them in a suitable size oven dish. Pour over the remaining stock and drizzle over a little oil. Cover tightly with foil.

Bake in your preheated oven for at least 45 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender and the peppers are juicy and sweet.

Remove the foil and continue cooking the capsicum for at least another 15 minutes so they colour up and the filling is cooked.

Remove from the oven and enjoy piping hot or as in Greece eaten either hot or cold!