Healthy Vegetarian Recipe

This month Riverford Organic Farmers share a delicious vegetarian recipe perfect for a main course.

Smoky Quinoa Stuffed Peppers (Serves 2)

A delectable, healthy vegetarian main of roasted peppers filled with paprika-spiced quinoa, tomatoes and cheese. Wootton White is an excellent light sheep’s cheese with a salty tang, but feta works equally as well. Serve with whatever greens are in season. Use Romano peppers (the long, tapering kind) if you can as they’re a little more flavourful, but bell peppers are also fine.

What you need:

2 red Romano peppers (halved length-ways & seeds removed), vegetable oil, 1 onion (finely diced), 1 garlic clove (crushed), 100g quinoa (rinse under cold water), ¼ tsp smoked paprika, 1 tin chopped tomatoes, Wootton White or feta cheese, small handful fresh parsley (chopped), salt & pepper.

How you do it:

1. 01. Preheat oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Put the peppers in a baking dish. Drizzle with a little oil. Season & roast.
2. 02. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium sized, heavy-based saucepan. Add the onion. Fry on a low heat for 8 minutes, stirring now & then to stop it catching. If it does start to catch, add a splash of water & turn the heat a little lower.
3. 03. Add the garlic & quinoa to the onion. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the smoked paprika & tinned tomatoes. Refill the tin half full with water from the tap, pour that in too. Season.
4. 04. Bring up to a low boil, then cook for 15 minutes, stirring regularly. Keep an eye on the liquid & the heat; you want the quinoa to absorb the liquid so you’re left at the end with a risotto like consistency, but not for the pan to boil dry.
5. 05. Once the quinoa has cooked, remove from the heat. Take the peppers out of the oven. Fill the cavities with the quinoa. Crumble over the cheese & sprinkle over the parsley.