Tempeh Spinach Stuffed Peppers

How cool are these black bell peppers? I’d never seen them before, so I needed to buy them. I was a little surprised when we cut them open and they were green inside. I suppose I could’ve guessed that. They did have greenish streaks when I looked at them carefully. I wanted to make something that would feature their color. I decided on stuffed peppers, since they would stay mostly whole. Apparently they turn green as you cook them, so I guess my plans were thwarted. That doesn’t mean the peppers weren’t good though.

• 4 bell peppers, de-stemmed, de-seeded, de-ribbed
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces tempeh, crumbled
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce
• 2 cups torn spinach, well-packed (2 1/2 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• freshly cracked black pepper
• sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Add the water to a square casserole dish. Place the peppers in, cut side down. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Then remove and allow to cool.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
4. Add the tempeh, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes, until browned.
5. Push the tempeh over to one side of the pan, add the onion. Cook for a few minutes, until starting to brown around the edges. Push the onions to the side and add the garlic. Cook until fragrant, about half a minute.
6. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the spinach, quinoa, parsley, rosemary, red pepper, and half of the tomato sauce. Mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
7. Stuff the peppers with the filling and return to the casserole dish. Top with the remaining tomato sauce.
8. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until the peppers are starting to wrinkle on top. Serve.

(Serves 4)

Be careful when stuffing the peppers, they’ll likely still be hot.

I bought the black peppers since they were unusual, but really they tasted just like green peppers. I much prefer red, orange, or yellow peppers for pretty much every cooking application. Your choice whether you want to stick with the more traditional green or go for the sweeter peppers.

Many stuffed pepper recipes call for cheese on top. I omitted cheese this time, but you’re certainly welcome to add it.

Looking for More Gluten-Free Vegetarian Recipes?

I recommend The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Kitchen, by Donna Klein. See it on Amazon. Read reviews on Amazon.

• More than 200 tasty recipes,
• Numerous tips for succesful gluten-free cooking and baking, and
• Nutritional information (calories, grams of protein, fat, carbs, etc.) for every recipe.