Monday, January 7, 2013

Stuffed peppers with quinoa, feta, sweet potato and squash




Happy New Year! I wanted to start the year with something colourful and fresh.
This is easy peasy, cheap and yummy. Think I got a bit carried away with the yoghurt though...
The little guest star in the dish is a Primavera quiche with courgettes, spinach and asparagus.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For the stuffed peppers
4 small red peppers
1 pack of Red and White quinoa (the microwaveable version from The Merchant is perfect)
1 small shallot
Extra Virgin Oil, salt and pepper as needed
1 sweet potato
Half a medium sized squash
Half a pack of feta cheese
Some Greek Yoghurt

For the quiche
A roll of puff pastry
A bunch of asparagus
A big courgette
450 grams of spinach
1 egg
Two tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
The other half pack of feta cheese
Extra virgin Oil, salt and pepper as needed

Chop the shallot, put some oil in a pan and cook the shallot until it turns golden. Add the sweet potato and squash that you have cut in small dices, season with salt and pepper and cook adding some water until they become tender but still have a bit of crunch.
In the meantime cook the quinoa for 1 minute in the microwave ( not any more or the pouch will explode! Quinoa can get messy...)
Let it cool. Add the feta cubes and mix in the veggies. You can add some more salt, pepper and extra virgin oil.


 Wash the red peppers, cut off the top (but keep it on the side, you will need it to cover the peppers) and empty the pepper of the seeds and the white bit (does it actually have a name in English?). Stuff the peppers with the quinoa, feta, sweet potato and squash mixture and cover them with their little cap (Cute!).


Heat the oven at 180 degrees, place the stuffed peppers in a baking tray that you have previously oiled so they don't stick to it. Cook for 45 minutes.
You can prepare them in advance and then warm them up and add some Greek Yoghurt before serving.

The quiche is even easier to make... Chop the veggies and place in a pan with some olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and cook until they become tender but remain crunchy, no one likes a soggy vegetable!


Bring some water to boil, add some salt and boil the spinach for 5 or 6 minutes.
Drain the spinach. When they have cooled down squeeze them well until they release all the water and chop. Once the veggies have cooled down mix them in a bowl with the spinach, an egg, some grated parmesan, a pinch of salt and pepper and some crumbled feta. Heat the oven at 180 degrees. Place the roll of puff pastry in a baking tray that you have covered in butter so it doesn't stick (Alternatively you can use some baking paper). Poke the pastry with a fork, this will release the juices of the veggies so the quiche remains nice and dry. Fill the pastry with the mixture and then fold both ends until you form a nice rectangular quiche. Make a cut on both sides of the pastry, it will cook better and look nicer too.
Cook in the oven for 25 minutes and serve with the peppers.








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