stuffed peppers

I made these little guys for a recent gathering with friends and they went over well.  I used mini peppers, so it took some time to stuff them, but other than that they make for a great appetizer.  And there are many options for how to stuff them... you could do more of a cheesy mixture or a more traditional rice & sausage that you often find in stuffed peppers.

couscous stuffed peppers with tomato sauce

Stuffed peppers:

mini peppers (the filling made enough to stuff about 20 peppers, or 40 halves)

1 c. couscous

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves minced garlic

10-15 sundried tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

2 c. chopped fresh spinach

couple handfuls of walnuts, chopped

4 oz. goat cheese

1 lemon

2-3 T olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Bring 1 1/4 c. water to a boil.  Add couscous, cover, and set aside for about 5 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and fluff with a fork once fully cooked.

While the couscous cooks, saute the onion, garlic, and sundried tomatoes, and herbs in olive oil until onions are tender (if you have some dry white wine on hand, it would be good to add a little).  Add spinach and cook just until the spinach wilts.  Add onion mixture, walnuts, goat cheese, the juice of one lemon, 2-3 T olive oil, and salt & pepper to couscous.  Stir until combined and add more olive oil if it's too dry.  The mixture should be a moist enough to stick together and stay in the peppers.

Cut peppers in half length ways and remove the stem and seeds.  Fill with couscous mixture and place in a baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until peppers are just tender and the couscous starts to brown a little.

Tomato sauce:

1/2 c. spaghetti sauce (any kind)

1 can diced tomatoes

2 cloves minced garlic

crushed red pepper flakes (add as much as you like, depending on your spice tolerance)

1 tsp dried basil

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer for 20-30 minutes.  Puree with hand blender until diced tomatoes are chopped up.  The sauce will still have some texture and won't be really smooth.  You can top the peppers with the tomato sauce before serving, or let people add their own (I chose to let people add their own, as they are good without the sauce and I made my sauce pretty spicy).