FRUITY QUINOA STUFFED PEPPERS

Fruity Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Another of the Celebrate and Bake class recipes that you may have missed…fantastic as a vegetarian main dish, or as a side dish to accompany all the usual at Christmas time. Make sure you charr the peppers, so a hot oven is essential…we managed to do them in a pizza oven in Mandurah, the BBQ in Newcastle with great results and of course in Sydney we had the luxury of the Kleenmaid Inspiration Gallery and so had our pick of the best ovens in the country. (I want a Butlers Pantry in my house!!…and the butler to go with it, but Kleenmaid don’t sell those!) I would say that most of the classes picked this as their favorite….other than the Speck and Salad Pizza, which recipe appears in my little book Dinner Spinner. If you haven’t ordered yours yet, please do so and then order them for all your thermomix owning friends/family/acquaintances and possibly neighbours…you won’t be disappointed…

NEED:

170g quinoa

1L water

Handful each fresh mint, basil and parsley

4 spring onions/shallots

½ tsp each ground cinnamon, allspice, paprika

100g dried figs

100g dates, pitted

40g craisins (dried cranberries)

70g pistachios

50g pine nuts

Sea salt to taste

Cracked black pepper to taste

6-8 capsicums, (peppers) in a variety of colours

EVOO as needed

Additional snipped herbs, toasted pine nuts to garnish

DO:

Place quinoa into simmering basket, insert into Thermomix bowl and pour water over the top. Cook 15 min/100ºC/speed 3. Remove quinoa and place into a large bowl to cool. Drain and dry TM bowl.

Place herbs, spring onions and spices into Thermomix bowl and chop

5 sec/speed 7.

Add figs and dates and chop 3 sec/speed 6.

Add nuts and seasoning and chop 3 sec/speed 4.

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Line a large baking tray with paper. Cut peppers in half and remove seeds and stalk carefully.

Stir nut and herb mixture into quinoa and mix well, adding a little EVOO to the mixture.

Stuff peppers with mixture and arrange on prepared tray. Drizzle with a generous amount of EVOO. Roast for 40 minutes or until capsicum skin is soft and filling is well cooked.

SERVE:

With a dollop of Minted Yoghurt, and garnished with additional snipped herbs and pine nuts.

Minted Yoghurt

Chop some fresh mint, add a pinch of sea salt and stir through some Greek-style yoghurt.