The stuffed bell peppers with couscous are tasty and flavorful, a simple and delicious vegetarian dish that brings warmth to the table; colorful, fragrant, and rich in flavor, they are perfect for serving in the summer as an alternative to meat-filled peppers.
Ideal throughout the year, they are perfect for spring and summer lunches, great to take to the beach or work as an alternative to rice-stuffed tomatoes. In my version, couscous becomes the perfect filling, it is prepared in a few minutes and lends itself to a thousand variations, also perfectly absorbing the scents and aromas of the vegetables and herbs used.
This is a versatile recipe that can be enriched with fresh herbs, spices, or other ingredients of your choice; the bell pepper with its natural sweetness acts as a shell and softens during cooking, becoming tender and irresistible.
The cooking can be done in the oven but also in an air fryer; if you like, try it and let me know if you enjoyed it.
Try also these other recipes:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer, All Seasons
- Energy 97.66 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 15.81 (g) of which sugars 5.10 (g)
- Proteins 2.83 (g)
- Fat 2.79 (g) of which saturated 0.38 (g)of which unsaturated 0.13 (g)
- Fibers 3.46 (g)
- Sodium 189.99 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 8 bell peppers (small, if they are very long 4 are enough)
- 7 oz cooked couscous
- 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion (golden)
- 3 carrots
- 2 zucchini (medium)
- 3 oz celery
- 10.5 oz potatoes
- 2 tomatoes (round)
- to taste parsley
- to taste basil (or other herbs to taste)
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
Tools
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Pan
- 1 Baking Tray oven
Procedure
Wash the bell peppers, cut off the top (set it aside as it will be used later), remove the seeds and internal fibers.
Wash the tomatoes, remove the seeds and water contained inside, and dice them.
Peel the onion and chop it finely.
Peel the potatoes and the carrots after washing them. Wash and trim the zucchini, the celery, and dice all the vegetables into small cubes. Take the tops of the bell peppers, discard the green part, and chop the remaining flesh.The vegetables are ready.
Lightly salt the bell peppers, brush them with a little oil, and bake in a preheated static oven for 20 minutes. You can also use an air fryer; the cooking time is roughly the same, depending on your appliance’s power.
Meanwhile, let’s prepare the filling.
In a large pan, put 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, heat it, and add the onion; let it sauté for a few minutes.
Add the vegetables to the onion sauté and let everything flavor for two minutes. Add 4 cups of water and cook over medium heat for about twenty minutes. The vegetables should be well-cooked but not falling apart. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the couscous to the pan with the vegetables, mix well, cover, and let it rest for 5 minutes; the amount of broth is sufficient to hydrate the pre-cooked couscous. Mix everything well with a fork to fluff up the couscous. Add the chopped parsley and basil and mix again.
Note: for cooking the couscous follow the instructions on the package, each product has its own times. Mine cooks in 8 minutes; I reduced it to 5 so that the double cooking does not make it too soft.
Fill the bell peppers with the couscous and arrange them on the baking tray.
Complete the cooking in the oven (or in an air fryer) for 10 minutes at 350°F.
The stuffed bell peppers with couscous are ready; you can serve them hot, but they are also excellent at room temperature.
Advice
How to store them
The stuffed bell peppers with couscous can be stored in the fridge for 2/3 days. Before serving, heat them in the microwave or leave them out of the fridge for 1 hour.
If you have leftover couscous, you can stuff other vegetables like bell peppers, eggplants, or zucchini.
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