Recipe

Fresh stuffed red pepper shells with pearl couscous, forbidden rice, kamut or red quinoa

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Fresh stuffed red pepper shells with pearl couscous, forbidden rice, kamut or red quinoa

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by Sarah Shatz

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by Sagegreen

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by Sagegreen

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by Sagegreen

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by Sagegreen

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by Sagegreen

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by Sagegreen

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Red Pepper Recipe
Burnt Offerings's Testing Notes: Don't let the number of ingredients daunt you. This comes together in a flash, and makes a wonderfully nutritious, yummy luncheon or side dish. Would be great for a picnic too. I would love...
Don't let the number of ingredients daunt you. This comes together in a flash, and makes a wonderfully nutritious, yummy luncheon or side dish. Would be great for a picnic too. I would love to open my Tupperware and find this waiting for me at lunchtime! Complex flavor profile: sweet from raisins and jelly, smoky from cumin and paprika, sour from vinegar and mustard, bright from fresh herbs, tangy from the feta, and a nice background heat if you use a pepper jelly -- I used a jalapeno jelly. And textures! So much crunch from the pepper and nuts. You could keep the vinaigrette the same and add or subtract so many other herbs and veg for different flavor profiles. This is a wonderfully flexible dish and would make any Meatless Monday a hit. - Burnt Offerings

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Chef
Sagegreen's Notes: I love making salads as appetizers. This is an easy dish to prepare. Half the fun is cutting the red peppers to house the filling. You can see a few variations in my cutting technique. This...
I love making salads as appetizers. This is an easy dish to prepare. Half the fun is cutting the red peppers to house the filling. You can see a few variations in my cutting technique. This is really easy to prepare. Select the most plump, beautiful red peppers that can stand on their own. Test them! If they are not stable, then you can even off the bottom to make them stand up straight, but many will already have this stability. Fill these with a salad you make from the healthiest grains you may have leftover from the week. You can add whatever you like to make the filling scrumptious. I am suggesting a few fillings and a dressing, but you can vary this as you like. - Sagegreen

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Serves 4 or even 8 (with half portions)

4 sweet select red peppers Ask a question about this ingredient

2-3 cups whole grains, soaked and then cooked accordingly, such as forbidden rice, pearl couscous, kamut, or red quinoa Ask a question about this ingredient

2 teaspoons cumin, optional Ask a question about this ingredient

1/4 teaspoon tumeric, optional Ask a question about this ingredient

1 cup feta or similar cheese Ask a question about this ingredient

1 ounce toasted pinion pine nuts, almonds, or pecans Ask a question about this ingredient

4 tablespoons fresh chopped mixed herbs, such as mint, basil, parsley and cilantro Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon pink or kosher salt Ask a question about this ingredient

1-2 tablespoon chopped scallions Ask a question about this ingredient

1-2 tablespoon dried currants, yellow raisins or cranberries, optional Ask a question about this ingredient

2 tablespoons grated carrot and fresh ginger Ask a question about this ingredient

4 tablespoons EVOO Ask a question about this ingredient

juice of a fresh lemon or lime Ask a question about this ingredient

1 tablespoon champagne vinegar Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon dijon mustard Ask a question about this ingredient

1 tablespoon sweet or hot pepper jelly, or honey Ask a question about this ingredient

salt, paprika and pepper to taste Ask a question about this ingredient

paprika for garnish Ask a question about this ingredient

fresh herbs for garnish Ask a question about this ingredient

Cut the tops of the peppers and take out all the seeds as well as the white fleshy interior bits. Cut triangles out of the top of the pepper saving the cuts for use in the filling. (You can bisect or even trisect the remaining triangle border of the pepper shell for effect if desired. This can also make eating easier with these pre-cuts).
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Mix your cooked grains of choice with feta and whatever other fillings and seasonings you want to include in a bowl. Be sure to add the leftover red pepper triangles diced further into the filling. I have used tumeric and cumin with the pearl couscous in one version, but not in the forbidden rice version.
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Mix the oil, juice, mustard, jelly or honey, vinegar with salt, paprika, and pepper to taste for the dressing. Pour this over the grain salad filling and lightly toss. Adjust the seasoning if needed.
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Fill each cut pepper with the grain filling. Garnish with fresh herbs and paprika. You can serve whole or even consider slicing these in half, as pictured in one variation.
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