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Stuffed peppers. I always thought it was a very complex and long process to make. It just always looks so delicious and exotic in cookbooks, so I never thought I had the culinary prowess to come up with something so complex.
Last time I had my friend Annie over though, we decided to give it a shot. What's the worst thing that could've happened - except, you know, burning down the house? We substituted the traditional rice for couscous (because neither of us can cook rice properly. Guilty.), and added some vegetables to the mix.
Luckily for us, we didn't burn down my brand new condo and our dish turned out to be absolutely delectable and fairly easy to make! I would definitely file this under the "easy" category. PLUS, it's a great dish to please the crowds! Not sure what to cook your partner tonight but want to prepare a low-budget fancy date? Turkey-Stuffed Peppers! Having people over and not sure what to serve them? Turkey-Stuffed Peppers! Yes, this recipe is quite versatile!
Seriously, you won't regret it.
Ingredients (yields 4 portions):
- 2 large red peppers, halfed and cleaned out
- 1/2 cup couscous
- Half a pound of extra-lean ground turkey
- 1/2 large zucchini, diced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic (more or less, depending on your love for garlic)
- 2 tsp Italian herbs seasonning
- Grated cheese of your choice (we used Light cheddar)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Water
Method:
- Cook the couscous according to package instructions (I simply boil some water and pour it over the couscous in a bowl. Ready in 5 minutes!)
- In the meantime, fry up your onions and garlic in olive oil until your onion starts becoming translucent.
- Add your turkey to the pan and cook it completely.
- Add the zucchini, the italian herbs, salt and pepper, and continue cooking for approximately 5 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and a tbsp of water, mix everything well.
- Once your meat mixture is ready, add it to your couscous and mix well.
- Stuff your half peppers with your couscous/meat mixture and place them in a deep oven-proof dish.
- Add about 1.5 tbsp of water to the bottom of your dish, cover with alluminum foil and place in pre-heated oven at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes.
- Remove the alluminum foil and top the peppers with cheese.
- Place back in the oven for about 15 minutes.
Have some left over mixture? Freeze it and save it for your next event!
Enjoy!
- CK
