Provencal Stuffed Peppers

My husband LOVES it when I cook with vegetables. He could never be a complete vegetarian, but he really likes plant-based foods. He gets really excited when I cook from my vegetarian cook book. So, in an effort to get him to help me decide on new recipes to try, I told him that I would cook any recipe he wanted from my cook book called Vegetarian if he got into medical school. You see, I was trying to get him to think that it was a reward for him, when really I just wanted some help knowing what kinds of things he wants to eat in the next few months. He never suggests food or asks me to make something again. He just says that he doesn’t care and that he likes everything I make. At least he is not picky. Anyway, he picked up the book and I thought, “He is actually going to flip through and find a recipe!!!” But I was wrong. He picked up the book and pointed to the front cover and said, “This one.” He would have said that no matter what was on the cover. But, you know what, the dish on the cover actually looked pretty good. He did get accepted to medical school and I did make him the dish on the front cover. And of course, he loved it. I have the best husband. I love that he is so supportive of my cooking adventures, even though I am on my own planning menus and picking out recipes. Congrats on getting accepted to medical school, love.

Ingredients:

• 1 TBSP. olive oil
• 1 red onion, sliced ( I chopped mine)
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 4 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 14 oz. can chopped tomatoes
• 1 TBSP. tomato paste
• 1/3 C. pine nuts
• 2 TBSP. fresh basil, chopped
• 4 large yellow bell peppers
• 1/2 C cheddar cheese, finely grated
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh basil leaves to garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion, mushrooms, zucchini, and garlic. Cook gently for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Stir in the tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally until it thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the pine nuts, basil, and salt and pepper. Make sure you taste it and add enough salt and pepper.

3. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. I like to do this with a spoon. Blanch them in a pot of boiling water for about 3 minutes. Drain and dry.

4. Place the peppers in a shallow ovenproof dish. I placed them in a cake pan lined with tin foil. Fill them with the vegetable mixture.

5. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle each one with pepper and grated cheese and bake for another 5-10 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

6. Garnish with basil leaves and serve hot.

Variation: Use the same filling to stuff other vegetables, such as zucchini or eggplant in place of the bell peppers.

If you like this, you might also like:

• Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers
• Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

Recipe adapted from Vegetarian edited by Nicola Graimes