My Quinoa-Stuffed Roasted Peppers are flavorful and delicious. I promise you, the fact that there’s no meat in this recipe isn’t an issue. The colors and texture I’ve incorporated in this dish will blow your mind!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Yields: 8 servings
Equipment: 1 (3-quart) sauce pot, 2 (9 x 13) baking dishes, chef’s knife, 1 (10-cup) food processor, 1 (12-inch) sauté pan, 1 (8-inch) sauté pan, 2 large mixing bowls, mesh strainer, fine mesh sieve

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of olive oil, plus extra for the tops of the stuffed peppers
2 red bell peppers, cut in half and seeded
4 orange bell peppers, cut in half and seeded
2 yellow bell peppers, cut in half and seeded
1 1/2 cups of frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup of pine nuts, toasted
4 sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 cups of Roma tomatoes, seeded, diced, and drained
1 onion quartered
2 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 pint of cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 chipotle pepper in Adobo, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons of thyme leaves, chopped
1 1/2 cups of wheat germ
1 cup (8 ounces) of shredded store-bought Mozzarella cheese
1 1/4 cups of vegetable stock plus 6 tablespoons, unsalted
1 cup of quinoa, rinsed

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Start by cutting the peppers in half, leaving the stems attached. Clean out the ribs and seeds. Arrange the peppers on two rimmed baking sheet pans. Cook for 30 minutes, allowing them to soften before filling.

In the meantime, start by making the filling. Add quartered onions and garlic to the food processor. Pulse until finely chopped, transfer to a large mixing bowl. Next, add the mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes to the food processor; again, pulse just until finely chopped. Add the chipotle pepper, the processed mushrooms, and the sun-dried tomatoes to the same bowl.

Add the drained Roma tomatoes and fresh thyme leaves to the bowl, and mix to combine. Set aside.

In a small dry sauté pan over medium-low heat, add the pine nuts. Cook, swishing the pan around, for about 2 to 3 minutes or until you start to smell their aroma. Immediately remove from the heat. Set aside.

Start by rinsing the quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve. If you’ve never made quinoa, it’s easy. First, you always want to do a quick rinse of the quinoa to remove the *saponin. Place quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse under cold water for a few seconds.

In a large heavy-bottom pot, over medium-low heat, add the rinsed quinoa to the heated pot. Make sure not to overcrowd. Using a whisk, quickly stir the quinoa around, allowing any excess water (left on the quinoa from the rinse) to be absorbed by the grains of quinoa.

Once the water is completely absorbed and the quinoa begins to pop, you’ll know it’s drying out. Continue stirring until the grains of quinoa begin to brown. The aroma will begin to smell nutty in around 5 minutes.

In another pot, bring the 3 cups of vegetable stock up to a boil and salt. Pour the hot vegetable stock into the pot containing the quinoa. Give the quinoa a good stir, and cover (with the glass lid). With the heat still on medium-low, simmer until all the water is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside off the heat for 5 minutes, uncover, and fluff with a fork. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

After 30 minutes, remove the peppers from the oven.

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add the olive oil. Transfer the processed vegetables to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally until tender, all liquid has evaporated, and the vegetable mixture has thickened, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the thawed peas and toasted pine nuts, and stir to combine. Continue cooking for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.

Combine the vegetable mixture with the cooked, toasted quinoa. Stir to combine. Using a large spoon, fill all 16 peppers to the top. Arrange the peppers, side by side, in the baking dishes. Sprinkle wheat germ evenly over the top of each pepper. Top each one with shredded Mozzarella.

Drizzled 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top of each pepper. Add 3 tablespoons of vegetable stock to the bottom of each of the baking dishes.  Bake for another 30 minutes.  To finish, turn the oven to the broil setting (keep a close eye) and cook for around 5 minutes or until the cheese and the tops become a light golden brown.

There you have it: my Quinoa-Stuffed Roasted Peppers.

Note: *Saponin Quinoa contains saponins, which are bitter-tasting compounds that act as a natural defense mechanism against pests. While saponins are generally considered safe for consumption in moderate amounts, they can cause a bitter taste and potentially mild digestive irritation in some individuals. Rinsing or soaking quinoa before cooking is a common practice to remove these saponins and improve its flavor and digestibility.

https://lindalouhamel.com/2019/07/10/summer-time-flowers-and-herbs/