Quinoa, Chorizo and Apple Stuffed Bell Peppers

Tips to get you started:

· You may choose to purchase a prepared chorizo or make your own, I have included a recipe to make your own, I recommend making the homemade version at least an hour in advance, to allow the flavors to really meld.

· Soy-rizo, or a chorizo spiced TVP may be substituted for ground chorizo, for a plant-based version. If you are using a plant-based substitute, you will need to add a fat for cooking the meat replacement, I would recommend avocado oil.

· These peppers keep well in the fridge for several days, so when I make this recipe, I plan to have leftovers ready for lunch or dinner later in the week.

· My favorite cheese to use in these peppers is either a crumbled tangy goat cheese, or a salty cotija – if you use the cotija, I’d recommend not adding much salt to the finished quinoa mixture as the cheese will do that for you!

Prep time: 10-30 Minutes

Cook time: 30-50 Minutes

Serves: 8

Special tools recommended: blender (preferred) or food processor

Ingredients:

Avocado oil cooking spray

8 Bell peppers of orange, yellow or red color, preferably with 4 points on the bottom for stability while cooking

For the Chorizo:

1 Lb. Ground pork

1 ½ Tablespoons ground paprika

½ Teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ Teaspoon ground cloves

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

1 ½ Teaspoons dried oregano leaves

2 Tablespoons chili powder

¾ Teaspoon sea salt

4 Teaspoons garlic powder

¼ Cup distilled white vinegar

OR

9 oz Cacique brand pork chorizo

For the filling:

1 Large yellow onion, diced

1 Cup rainbow quinoa

2 Tablespoons ground cumin

1 Teaspoon garlic powder

½ Teaspoon chili powder

½ Teaspoon cayenne powder (plus more to taste if you love spice!)

1 ½ Cups no salt added vegetable or chicken stock

1 ½ Cups honey crisp or another sweet apple peeled and small diced

1 cup crumbled or shredded cheese like: Cotija, goat cheese, queso fresco, cheddar, or Colby jack

Sea salt to taste

For the drizzle:

1 Bunch fresh cilantro, washed and roughly chopped with stems

6 Tablespoons lime juice (takes about 3 fresh limes)

¼-1/2 Cup cold water

¼ Cup avocado oil or EVOO

½ Teaspoon kosher salt and ¼ Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste

Part one: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Carefully cut the top stem part of the bell peppers off to make each pepper into a “cup” to hold fillings. Lightly grease a lasagna sized pan, and place peppers with the cup side up. If the peppers move around in the pan much, brace them with oven safe ramekins, or consider a slightly smaller pan. Transfer to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. When the peppers start to soften but are still slightly crunchy in texture, remove them from the oven. Using tongs, carefully dump out any accumulated moisture. Return the peppers to the pan and set aside for now and keep the oven on at 350.

Part two: While the peppers soften in the oven, start your filling.

For homemade chorizo: place ground pork into a medium non-reactive mixing bowl and add spices and vinegar, mix everything together until just combined. Place the chorizo in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently for about 5-8 minutes to render down the meat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a plate and set aside. Do not wipe out the pan.

OR for prepared chorizo- Remove chorizo from casing and place in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently for about 5-8 minutes to render down the meat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a plate and set aside. Do not wipe out the pan.

Part three: Using the same pan as you used for the chorizo, return the pan to medium heat, and add diced onions to the pan. Cook until the onions are translucent (about 5 minutes) but do not brown, add cumin, chili powder, cayenne and granulated garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).

Part four: To the pan with the onions, add quinoa and toast the quinoa for 1-2 minutes. Add the broth to the pan with quinoa and onions and cover simmer for about 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the quinoa is fully cooked. Quinoa is fully cooked when it is no longer crunchy, and looks as though it has popped open and you can see the germ of the grain (it looks like a white tail around the edge of the grain). Add the diced apple to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat.

Part five: Add the chorizo to the pan with the quinoa and mix thoroughly. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Carefully spoon about ¼ cup of the quinoa mixture into the bottom of each bell pepper, add a layer of your selected cheese, then top each pepper off with more quinoa and add more cheese to the top, as desired. Return the filled peppers to the lasagna pan and return the pan to the oven for about 10 minutes to melt the cheese.

Part six: While the cheese melts, in a blender, combine cilantro, lime juice, water, salt and pepper, blend until most of the cilantro is small bits. Add the oil and blend for another 10 seconds or so, taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.

Serving suggestion: Serve peppers right away, I like to cut mine in half vertically and drizzle each half liberally with the lime cilantro sauce.

Tiny chefs at home? They can help:

· Measure ingredients

· Using caution for heat, mix the quinoa corn and beans together

· Juice the limes

Nutrition information: Note- this calculation does not include the drizzle, as that is subject to each plating.

Total Calories: 352 // Total Fat: 19 g // Cholesterol: 50 mg // Sodium: 473 mg // Total Carbohydrates: 31 g // Dietary Fiber: 5 g // Sugars: 6 g // Protein: 22 g

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.