Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

A few weeks ago, or maybe it was a few months ago, I received this text message from my friend Lynn.
"Do you know how to make Quinoa Stuffed Peppers"

Now Lynn has had my Stuffed Peppers before but I have never made nor thought of stuffing my peppers with Quinoa. So I texted her back saying that if I did make them, I would use mushrooms, spinach and quinoa to stuff the peppers. Maybe some pine nuts to.

I then asked her if she wanted a recipe or if she was asking me to make her a batch someday. Her reply was a simple "What do you think?!!"

So... when we had a few friends over the other night for dinner and to watch the Germany - Argentina Semifinal Quarterfinal match of the 2010 World Cup I made the Quinoa Stuffed Peppers.


For a change, I didnt have to make all the food as Ms Kong Piang made a delightful Paella as well as a Sourdough ham sandwhich (this one just for me to try.)

The Lovely Wife made a Salad out of her Jamie Oliver cookbook while I made the peppers and a lovely dessert. I'll post about the Salad and Dessert soon (hopefully!)

Lynn brought along some lovely Brie Cheese and crackers for the appetizer while TLW whipped up some Salsa that we enjoyed with Corn Chips. So yes, quite a feast or Festmahl as Lynn called it as we all wanted Germany to win that night. By all, I mean Lynn, my two children and I - as Ms Kong Piang, TLW and Kevin really weren't all that bothered about the football!



This is what I did with the Peppers.

Ingredients
4 cloves garlic - chopped
2 tsps basil
250g Button Mushrooms - sliced
1 bunch baby spinach - blanched and chopped
1 cup quinoa
Handful of raisins
Salt
Black Pepper
6 medium capsicums
Method
Bring 1.5 cups of water (with a little salt) to the boil and add in the quinoa. Allow to simmer for about 20 minutes or till quinoa is cooked. Set aside.
Sautee garlic with a little black pepper. Add in the basil and fry till fragrant. Put in the mushrooms and cook till juices are released. Add in the chopped spinach and mix well before adding in the raisins. Add in the cooked quinoa and season with salt and pepper. Let sit for awhile to absorb the flavours.
Cut off tops of capsicum and remove the seeds. Coat the insides and outsides of the capsicum with a little olive oil before stuffing with the mixture. Bake in a preheated 190C oven for about 30 minutes or till capsicums are soft.

I was rather pleased with how the peppers turned out - being vegetarian and all! The Quinoa lent a nice nutty flavour and texture to the capsicum and the mushrooms and spinach combined really well while the raisins provided a little sweetness. The capsicums were really juicy too and that made it even better. I decided against pine nuts as the Quinoa was already nutty. Maybe adding more vegetables like celery or carrots would improve the flavour but it was still delicious as it was.


Dinner with good friends and good food is alway a plus point and we all had a gerat time. Two bottles of wine didnt hurt the festivities either! Kevin showed how manly he was by washing up all the dishes AND I mean ALL the dishes! Thanks Kevin!

Finally, Germany didn't just win but THRASHED Argentina 4-0! A magnificent ending to a wonderful night. Now lets just hope they win the World Cup since Brazil is already out...!