Or, Sunday dinner plans that set you up for the week.
Anyone planning (or daydreaming about) some slower weekend cooking? Recipes that require you to stuff one food into another food are often very fun to make, and these peppers are no exception. The bell peppers make cheerful and sturdy receptacles for any filling your heart desires. In this case, I used a lentil/mushroom/cabbage mixture, but I have used heavier, bolognese-like filling as well as lighter, pesto and zucchini themed fillings in the past.
Mmm, steamy mushrooms with tomato paste and aromatics. The aromatics base is the key to the savory sauce, which, if everything goes according to plan, will pool deliciously when you cut your pepper open and soak everything in umami.
- 1 cup dry green lentils (or use about 2 cans)
- 3 cups water
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, diced
- 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning or Herbs de Provence
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 10 oz/284g mushrooms, sliced (I used cremini)
- 3 cups shredded cabbage
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste/purée
- 1 teaspoon bouillon paste
- 1½ cups of water
- 4 bell peppers
- a handful of grated mozzarella cheese
- parsley, to garnish
- Put the dry lentils and 3 cups of water in a small pot. Simmer until tender (about 30 mins).
- In a medium non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and garlic and stir gently until softened. Add the herb mixture and the tomato paste/purée and stir until darkened (about 1 minute).
- Add mushrooms to pan and soften slightly. Add cabbage and stir again.
- Add bouillon paste, cooked lentils (drained, if you are using cans), and 1½ cups of water. Stir to incorporate everything.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Coat the bottom of a baking dish with a spoonful of filling mixture.
- Cut the lids off of 4 bell peppers and rinse them well.
- Fill the peppers and place them in the baking dish. Fit any extra filling around the base of the peppers.
- Bake the peppers for 50 minutes. Remove from oven and top each one with a small handful of grated cheese. Return the dish to the oven and bake for 10 minutes more, or until cheese is melted and bubbling.
- Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley to garnish.
- This goes well with rice or crusty bread (or both).