Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers

This recipe is another great Lisa Barnes treat from The Petit Appetit Cookbook. Now that C is headed toward three, I'm headed into the last quarter of the cookbook. The recipes get more adventurous, as do the flavors. Over the holidays, we indulged in cookies, cakes, heavy sauces, and meats. Post-New Year, we needed to detox. This recipe was just what the belly ordered. The quinoa provides much needed protein, but it is so light and easily digested that there was no heaviness that might normally accompany a stuffed pepper dish. I did alter the recipe a bit though. Her original recipe called for zucchini as the only other vegetable, other than the peppers, of course. Not only are zucchini out of season in January, they don't have a great deal of hearty nutritional value. I decided to use a vegetable blend (I used Trader Joe's Harvest Hodgepodge), but you could use any combination of carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, etc. I also pulsed the vegetables, once thawed, in the food processor, so that the stuffing texture would be more consistent throughout. Enjoy!

You need:

1/2 c. quinoa
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 c. water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/2 small onion
1/2 bag of frozen, hearty vegetables - thawed
2 tbsp. dried currants
1 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 tbsp. lemon juice
4 large peppers, cored and tops sliced off
1 tbsp. bread crumbs
1 tbsp. Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small saucepan, stir together quinoa and 1 tbsp. of the olive oil to coat Add the water, salt, pepper, and bail and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

While the quinoa is cooking, place the onion and thawed vegetables in a food processor. Pulse until vegetables resemble coarse crumbs. In a medium sized skillet, add the remaining oil. Saute vegetables, currants, parsley, cumin, and lemon juice for about 3-5 minutes. Add the finished quinoa and mix until all is heated throughout.

Stuff the peppers with the mixture. In a small bowl, mix the bread crumbs and cheese. Sprinkle over the stuffed peppers. Bake for 25 minutes, until peppers are cooked.