Today, I came up with my own variation of a Mediterranean inspired stuffed green pepper recipe. The stuffing consisted of ground lamb, couscous, onion, garlic, tomatoes and a combination of herbs and lemon juice. It was topped with traditional feta cheese, and I tell you, it was spectacular! I'm sorry for the shoddy camera shots, but my tablet camera can only do so much.
First, I split the peppers lengthwise and carefully cut away the stem area, inner membranes and seeds. Then sprayed a glass pan with olive oil cooking spray and laid them with the open part down. I let them roast at 350F for about 20-25 minutes to begin softening the sturdy green pepper flesh. While that was roasting, I got ready to make the stuffing.
I used frozen, chopped onion to save some work, since there is little difference once it is cooked. I sauteed the onion with extra virgin olive oil, over medium high heat, for about 5 minutes until they begin to become translucent. I added a drained can of tomatoes, and chopped garlic, and let it heat for another minute or two. Then, some ground lamb was added, broken up and mixed with the veggies. I added a combination of marjoram, thyme, rosemary, oregano and a good deal of parsley and dill. I let that brown for about 7-8 minutes and or until the lamb is fully cooked.
I added a few cups of water and brought it to a boil. Then I removed it from the heat, adding boxed couscous and then stirring to mix and cover with a lid to let it steam for 5 minutes. Then I added a few squirts of lemon juice and made sure it was all mixed evenly.
In the meantime, I pulled the roasting peppers out and flipped them over to fill them. I stuffed them and pressed it down, making sure it was packed tightly. Then it was topped off with crumbled feta cheese and put back in the already hot oven for to roast for another 15-20 minutes. The Feta cheese doesn't melt nearly as well as others, but that doesn't matter, as it works great for this recipe.
It turned out terrific, my family loved it, and now I'm sharing it with you! Enjoy, and let me know if you try it out.
