Middle Eastern Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
Ingredient Checklist
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces ground lamb
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon Yellow curry
1 teaspoon Garam masala
1 cup cooked Quinoa
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
½ cup pine nuts, toasted
⅓ cup dried apricots, chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
¼ cup fresh mint, cut into ribbons
Salt
Black pepper
4 mediums red, yellow and/or orange sweet peppers (how many will fit in the dish and use all the filling?)
Directions
Step 1
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
Step 2
Add lamb to skillet, breaking it up with a spoon. Add cumin, paprika and cinnamon, garam masala, and curry. Cook until meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
Step 3
Add meat to onion mixture. Add cooked quinoa, feta cheese, pine nuts, dried apricots, parsley and mint. Stir well; season with salt and pepper.
Step 4
Split bell peppers lengthwise. Remove seeds and membranes. Arrange pepper halves in a 3-quart baking dish and fill with meat mixture. Cover with foil and bake at 400° until peppers are tender and filling is warm, about 45 min-1 hour. Serve garnished with extra mint.
Tips
*When choosing peppers for stuffing, pick shorter, wider peppers with flat bottoms.
*Peppers can be stuffed and refrigerated, covered, up to one day in advance.
