Stuffed Sweet Peppers

Sweet peppers can be very pricey. So we normally just by its not so sweet counterpart – the green peppers. However, when sweet peppers go on sale, my husband and I stock up on them.

I’ve seen some stuffed peppers before. They looked intimidating. So I never tried.

Until one day, I decided to make something that looks “fancy” for our dinner guests.

We happened to have a few of the sweet peppers in our fridge and some 5 min. (pre-cooked) couscous sitting in our pantry. I thought to myself, perhaps I can make stuffed peppers using couscous as my stuffing. Since then, I’ve made this dish pretty much every time sweet peppers go on sale!

You can make this with just plain (raw or precooked) couscous, which I’ve done in the past as well. It won’t have as much flavour as the Mediterranean one. But you can definitely make your own Mediterranean couscous, which I will cover on a different post when I get the chance.

For today, we’ll make life in the kitchen a little bit easier. So, here we go!

STUFFED SWEET PEPPERS

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup (precooked) Zinda Couscous (Mediterranean)
• 1 3/4  cup boiling water
• 4 peppers (preferably sweet peppers, but I only had 3, so I used green pepper)
• Salt & pepper (optional)
• Butter or olive oil (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Cut the peppers in halves either lengthwise (from the sides) or crosswise (from top to bottom), whichever way the pepper sits better to act as an edible dish for your couscous.
3. Place the peppers into a baking sheet lined with foil. (For added flavour you can brush the peppers with butter or spoon a little butter into it). Roast in the oven until peppers are cooked.  (About 20 minutes. If you want the peppers to have the charred look like when you grill it, bake them for 10-15 minutes and then broil the peppers on high for a few minutes, make sure not to leave them too long or it will end up burnt!)
4. As you are waiting for your peppers to cook, pour 1 1/2 cups of Mediterranean couscous in a dish. Add 1 3/4 cups boiling water. (If you check the label of your couscous, it normally asks for the same ratio of couscous to water. But I find that I can stretch the couscous more if I add a little bit more water. Also, it ends up being fluffier). 
5. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
6. (Optional) Add about a tablespoon of butter or olive oil to the couscous. (When using plain couscous, I add butter, but with the Mediterranean or the other flavoured couscous I normally skip this part).
7. Fluff gently with a fork. (Add salt & pepper to taste). Set aside.
8. Once the peppers are done, spoon the couscous into the peppers. Serve warm.

I like making this as a side dish to my Baked Salmon, or my Mandarin Sesame Chicken Breasts, or my Chicken Bruschetta.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don’t normally use measuring spoons/cups when I cook. Unless I’m baking of course. Cooking is more of an art. So when I cook, I usually just eyeball things. The key is to taste your food while you cook, and adjust your spices as your taste buds dictate. What maybe sweet for me, may not be the case for you. Hence, the lack of measurements on my recipes. I will leave that up to you. All the necessary ingredients (and tips!) however will be provided.

Happy experimenting cooking!

Zhi