Stuffed Roasted Red Peppers

There are a few different ways to make stuffed red peppers, you can pre-boil them, then stuff and bake, or you can pre-roast them, then stuff them. I think the roasting adds a really wonderful flavor, but it really depends on the stuffing. If you are going for a fresh mexican flavor, with black beans and cheese, then boiling might be better. For these, I made a savory Italian-inspired quinoa stuffing which complimented the roasted peppers beautifully.

Roasted Red Peppers with Italian Quinoa Stuffing

Serves 4

4 large or 8 small red peppers

Olive oil 

Slice peppers in half lengthwise and remove ribs and seeds. Place on a baking sheet and brush with oil. I used the convection roast feature on my oven, but you can just bake at 400F. (If using convection, 375F will do.) Roast until soft and just starting to brown at the edges. 

For the stuffing:

2 cups cooked quinoa (can be made day ahead)

1 lb bag frozen chopped spinach (or you could use other greens such as chard or kale)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes packed in oil (or if using the dry kind, soak in hot water for 5 min)

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Saute onion in olive oil until soft and just golden, add garlic, stirring until aromatic. Add spinach and a splash of water, cover and cook until thawed. Meanwhile, toss your pine nuts in olive oil and place in the oven for a few minutes, watching closely, stirring once or twice. Nuts are so easy to burn. I burn them at least half the time. (Ideally, I like to put them in the oven when I turn it off, and let them sit for 5 minutes or so. I'm less likely to burn them that way.) When your spinach is ready, stir in your sun dried tomatoes and quinoa. Add pine nuts and stir well to combine. 

Your peppers should be ready now. Spoon stuffing into peppers and top with Basic Marinara. I must admit that the stuffing was so good I made another batch to eat by itself for lunch the next day. Yum!