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Stuffed Peppers with Tomato, Basil and Feta CousCous

It’s that time of year when the garden is bursting at the seems and I am doing my best to eat every ripe little morsel. This year I planted green, yellow and red bell peppers as well as green Italian peppers. I have got more peppers than Peter Piper could ever pick let alone pickle. The tomatoes have been slow to ripen, but now I’m getting at least 4 a day. The plants are at 9 feet and counting. (see below) The Brandywine has yet to produce any ripe ones but they’re close and huge. I can’t wait.

So, last night with peppers, tomatoes and basil in bunches, I decided to throw together the recipe below. When I say “throw together” I mean it. All measurements are approximates and you can really substitute practically all the ingredients and come up with something equally delicious. That’s why I love stuffed peppers. The combinations are endless. I’ll give you some suggestions at the end and please if you have a favorite stuffed pepper recipe, leave a comment. I’m going to be eating a lot of peppers for the next two months.

INGREDIENTS:

4 medium to large Green Peppers (other colors totally acceptable)
3 cups prepared couscous (use **plain or any flavored variety that suits your fancy.)
1 medium tomato diced
1/4 cup crumbled Feta
1/4 cup fresh Basil, chiffonade
1 6 oz. can tomato juice
1/4 cup of water

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)

Cut tops of peppers off and hollow out. Mix tomato, feta and basil with couscous. Stuff each pepper with couscous mixture and place in an oven safe dish just large enough for the peppers. This will help you keep the peppers standing upright. Mix tomato juice and water and pour liquid around bottom of the dish and cover with foil.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes to an hour.

We served peppers with roasted chicken breasts and a simple green salad.

Some other combinations you can try:
Brown Rice, zucchini, onion and feta
White rice, black beans, corn, tomato, scallions and cheddar
Couscous, roasted red pepper, basil and mozzarella
And, there is always the ever popular Green peppers stuffed with ground beef and rice and topped with a seasoned tomato sauce. Which brings me right back to the 70’s.

Thanks for stopping by JB fans. I hope you give this recipe a try and I would love to hear about your garden adventures and recipe suggestions. Please leave a comment.

**I always cook plain couscous in broth, either chicken or vegetable. It adds some subtle flavor to the otherwise very plain pasta.

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008, by admin and is filed under "Healthy, Vegetarian ". You can leave a response here, or send a Trackback from your own site.