RECIPE | MEATLESS MONDAYS: Stuffed Peppers

So the other day I was rattling my brain as to what to make for dinner. I refused to go shopping for ingredients as I knew we had so much food in the house - but only really store cupboard stuff (oh and a couple of peppers in the fridge).

After a bit of rummaging around, I decided to make something up and you know what... it turned out just great!

I've never been a fan of 'stuffed' anything to be honest. I always used to avoid it growing up and I guess even now I'm a bit wary. I have a feeling that it dates back to my childhood. I remember making 'stuffed apples' at school in Home Economics. I can't remember what the 'stuffing' was but all I remember was it had dried fruit in. Anybody that knows me, knows I can't stand dried fruit in anything. I can cope with it by itself - like a handful of raisins (if I'm in the mood), but dear God! Put them inside something and they go all squidgy - eeeeeww!! Anyway, sorry I digress... Here is my recipe for stuffed peppers. This time made with rice, olives, chickpeas and artichokes. I also made a dressing with some thai red curry paste that was lurking about - but you can use any dressing you like.

Ingredients (Serves 2):
1/2 cup of brown rice
10-15 black olives slices
6 sliced artichokes - from a jar or the deli section of your super market
can of chickpeas washed and drained
2 bell peppers
sprinkle of crispy onions to garnish
balsamic glaze

for the dressing...

my homemade basil dressing (which I made here)
1 tsp Thai Red curry paste
Pinch of Italian herb mix

Method:

• Simply wash and drain the rice and cook to the manufacturers instructions
• Preheat the oven to around 180-200 degrees
• Whilst the rice is cooking, make the dressing by mixing all of the ingredients together
• Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all the seeds but keep the pepper whole.
• When the rice has around 3 mins left, add the chickpeas to warm through
• In a separate frying pan, warm the olives and artichokes in any oil that they are covered in (not the whole pot of oil, just what is coating them). We are just warming them through so keep it simple!
• When the rice is ready, drain and stir through the dressing, olives and artichokes with a fork
• Fill each pepper to the brim and put in the oven for around 15 minutes or until the tops are slightly charred and then peppers are nice and soft.
• When cooked, bring them out of the oven and sprinkle with some crispy onions and drizzle with some balsamic glaze
• Serve warm with a green salad and enjoy!

Thanks so much for reading!

Emmaline x