TODAY Food Club

Growing up in Russia, I have very fond memories of eating delicious home cooked meals made by my amazing-cook mother. Looking back, there were several staples that my mom made for us over and over again- one of them being stuffed peppers. The original recipe calls for plenty of butter, meat, and sour cream, but I’ve made a much healthier, vegan version of the recipe and let me tell you, it’s exactly even better than the original (sorry mom!) Eating these healthified peppers still brings back those warm memories of family gatherings and childhood innocence, but without the heaviness in your belly!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers + Plum Tomato Salsa (V, GF)

• Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 5-6 sweet peppers
• 2 Tbls of oil of your choice, divided (coconut, avocado, etc)
• 1.5 cups of quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1 medium onion (reserve 1 Tbls of onion for the salsa)
• small bunch of purslane (or other green like kale or spinach)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• salt and pepper
• salsa: 5 small plums (approx 1 cup chopped plums)
• 4-5 small tomatoes of your choice (approx 1 cup chopped tomatoes)
• 1 Tbls reserved onion, small dice
• juice of half small lemon
• salt and pepper

Preparation

1. Prepare the quinoa by rinsing then adding the quinoa to 2 cups of salted water. Bring the quinoa to a boil then turn heat to med and simmer for 15-20 min
2. Peel and mince the garlic. Add to a pan with 1 Tbls oil and sweat for 1-2 minutes. Small dice the onion and add to garlic. Sautee for another 3-4 minutes then add purslane or other green. Sautee for 5 min then set aside. Add quinoa and mustard powder and mix well.
3. Preheat the oven for 375F/190C.
4. Cut the tops off of the peppers, and remove the seeds and inner core.
5. Rub the peppers with 1 Tbls olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Roast for 15 min or until the skin begins to brown on top. Remove from oven but keep covered with foil to keep warm.
6. While peppers and quinoa are cooking, prepare the salsa. Chop the plums and tomatoes into small dice, and add to small bowl. Add onion, juice of half lemon and salt and pepper. Mix well
7. Spoon the quinoa/greens mixture into each pepper. Serve with salsa and enjoy!

Recipe Tags

• Vegan
• European
• Entree