The COUSCOUS-STUFFED PEPPERS are a colorful and tasty summer dish, light and fresh, which can be proposed in many occasions, such as the main course for a quick lunch or an original first course for a meal in the warm season, perhaps to please vegetarian or vegan friends as well.
The goodness of this dish lies in its freshness and in the simple but interesting combination of its few ingredients: the different textures, the alternation of savory and sweet and the intense fragrances create an original and really irresistible mix, rich while remaining light. Couscous, moreover, complements and does not mute the other ingredients, giving them the right prominence.
Preparing these couscous-stuffed peppers is extremely easy and quick and, another very convenient aspect for summer, can be done in advance of consumption. The dish is eaten cold, in fact, and can therefore stay for a few hours in the refrigerator or otherwise kept cool before serving.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4 Servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
Ingredients
- 4 peppers (medium-small)
- 3/4 cup (≈125 g) dry couscous
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) vegetable broth (or water)
- Half cucumber
- 1 vine-ripened tomato
- 1 spring onion (green onion)
- 1 oz (≈30 g) Taggiasca olives
- 10 leaves mint
- to taste extra-virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Baking dish
- 1 Pan
- 1 Plastic wrap
- 1 Cutting board
Steps
The preparation of the COUSCOUS-STUFFED PEPPERS is very easy and quick.
Score a cross at the base of a tomato. Dip it in boiling water for 20 seconds, drain into cold water, then peel it. Remove the seeds, cut into strips and then dice.
Place the couscous in a bowl and add the vegetable broth or hot salted water. Cover and let it rest for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, add a drizzle of olive oil and, using a fork, fluff the couscous.
Peel the cucumber, remove the seeds and dice it. Dice the spring onion as well.
Add the tomato, cucumber, spring onion, olives and chopped mint to the couscous. Season with salt and oil and mix. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator.
In the meantime, remove the tops of the peppers and clean them of seeds and membranes. Season the inside with salt and oil and cook them in a preheated conventional oven at 374°F for 25 minutes. They should soften but remain slightly crisp.
Remove them from the oven and let them cool until warm.
Cut the pepper tops into dice and sauté them in a pan with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt for 10 minutes.
Combine the cooked peppers with the couscous and mix. Fill the peppers, garnish with mint leaves and serve.
STORAGE
Couscous-stuffed peppers keep perfectly in the refrigerator, well covered, for 2 days.
