Grobe Recipes

Sweet and Sour Couscous-Stuffed Peppers

• 2 Medium Carrots, cut into chunks
• 2 stalks celery, cut into chunks
• 1 large shallot, cut into, you guessed it, chunks
• 1.5 TBSP Olive Oil
• 1/2 lb. lean ground beef. You can also use ground turkey. I bet ground lamb would be great in this too.
• 2 TBSP plus 4 TSP tomato paste
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parseley, dill, or a combination
• 1/3 cup golden raisins (regular raisins work too)
• 2 TBSP red wine vinegar
• Kosher salt.
  • Or sea salt. Or regular salt. Because it is mixed in and will dissolve. But you do need to adjust the amount down a little bit based on the fact that table salt and some sea salt grains pack denser in the measure, so it will be too salty if you use the same amount. But you really don't need to run out and buy kosher salt to make this.
• 4 bell peppers, any color (or a mix of colors) cut in half and seeded
• 1/2 cup whole wheat couscous (or whatever the regular couscous is at the store. Food Network tries too hard to be fancy) - uncooked
• 3/4 cup grated asiago cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F
2. Put the celery, carrots, and shallot into a food processer and pulse until coarsley chopped
3. Heat 1 TBSP of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden and soft (8-10 minutes)
4. Add the ground meat and 4 TSP of the tomato past and brown, breaking the mixture up with a wooden spoon (about 4 minutes)
5. Add 1/2 cup water, the parseley, raisins, 1 tbsp of the vinegar, and 3/4 tsp salt (adjusted if needed based on type of salt used). Bring to a simmer and cook uintil most of the water is absorbed and the mixture gets saucy (about 1-2 minutes). Allow to cool slightly
6. Toss the pepper halves with the remaining 1/2 tbsp oil in a microwave safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until the peppers are pliable (about 10-12 minutes). You can also steam the peppers if you have a pot you can do this in because that's really what your doing with the microwave.
7. Carefully uncover the bowl (that steam is HOT!) and pour off any liquid that has accumulated. 
8. Stir the couscous into the beef mixture
9. Whisk together the remaining 2 TBSP tomato paste, 1 TBSP vinegar, and 3/4 cup water in the bottom of a baking dish large enough to hold the 8 pepper halves. You may need to use 2 dishes, in which case prepare the mixture in one then split accordingly.
10. Carfully transfer the peppers into the baking dish(s) cut side up  and fill each one with the couscous/meat/veggie mixture. Sprinke with the cheese. Cover with foil and bake until the peppers are tender and the stuffing is hot, about 20-25 minutes.
11. Serve hot or allow to cool to room temperature. Whatever you do, drizzle them with the cooking liquid before serving.