Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Peppers stuffed with quinoa, black beans and kale

A friend of mine shared this recipe recently. The original is from Vegetarian Times. I adapted a few things and my 14-month old nephew went crazy for the filling. I am always looking for new and interesting ways to use quinoa, and I will be making this one again! Someone also suggested stuffing portobello mushrooms - I would be happy to eat it as is.

Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers

Serves 8
This dish freezes well for future meals. Quinoa provides whole-grain goodness and a serving of protein.
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • 2 ribs celery, finely chopped (½ cup)
  • 1 Tbs. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp chili flakes (optional)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
  • 2 bunches of kale, stripped from stems and finely chopped
  • 2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
  • 1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • ¾ cup quinoa
  • 3 large carrots, grated (1 ½ cups)
  • 4 large bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed
1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and celery, and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add cumin and garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in kale, sauté 2 minutes. Add drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated.
2. Stir in black beans, quinoa, carrots, and the reserved tomato juice plus enough water to equal 2 cups water. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour a small amount of liquid in bottom of baking dish.
4. Fill each bell pepper half with heaping 3/4-cup quinoa mixture, and place in baking dish. Cover with foil, and bake 1 hour. Uncover, and sprinkle each pepper with cheese as desired. Bake 15 minutes more, or until tops of stuffed peppers are browned. Let stand 5 minutes.

3 comments:

Anazar said...

Great stuffing!

Unknown said...

Thanks! Making it again for my sister and her family right now.

Unknown said...

yummm! This one's a big hit at our house, even with our meatatarian friends and the picky 2 year old! :) Thanks for introducing us to it.