chicken-stuffed peppers on a carrot purÃ.©e bed
These chicken-stuffed peppers on a carrot purÃ.©e bed are a delicious and colourful alternative to the stuffed peppers Mom used to make!
Ingredients
Carrot PurÃ.©e:
6 medium carrots, diced
1 medium sprig fresh rosemary
1 tsp (5 mL) red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp (1 mL) each salt and pepper
Stuffed Peppers:
2 sweet yellow peppers, cut in half lengthwise, cored and seeded
2 sweet green peppers, cut in half lengthwise, cored and seeded
2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
1 lb (500 g) extra-lean ground chicken or turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh thyme leaves
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large tomato, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 cup (250 mL) sliced mushrooms
1 cup (250 mL) cooked barley or rice
1/2 tsp (2 mL) each salt and pepper
1/2 cup (125 mL) shredded cheddar cheese
Preparation
Carrot PurÃ.©e: Place carrots and rosemary sprig in a medium saucepan; cover with water. Cook on medium-high heat until carrots are very soft, about 30 minutes. Drain carrots, reserve cooking water, but discard the rosemary sprig.
In blender, purÃ.©e carrots with 1/2 cup (125 mL) cooking liquid. Add up to 1/4 cup (50 mL) more of reserved cooking water and continue to blend until smooth. Stir in vinegar, salt and pepper and set aside.
Stuffed Peppers: Blanch pepper halves in a large pot of boiling salted water for 4 minutes. (Or, microwave on high in a covered dish for 3 to 4 minutes.) Drain and pat dry and set on a foil-lined baking sheet, skin side down.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Cook ground chicken until no longer pink. Drain off any excess fat. Add onions, red peppers, rosemary and thyme to chicken and cook until soft and fragrant. Add garlic, tomato, zucchini and mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes. Stir in barley, salt and pepper and mix until evenly combined.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350Â.°F (180Â.°C). Stuff each pepper half with chicken mixture. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove cover, top with grated cheese and bake uncovered, for 5 minutes to melt cheese.
To serve, reheat carrot purÃ.©e in the microwave on high until hot. Ladle a circle of carrot purÃ.©e on each plate, spreading to outside of plate. Place two pepper halves on carrot purÃ.©e. Makes 4 servings.
Barley Tip: With a pleasing nutty taste, barley is also a good source of soluble fibre that helps lower cholesterol. Barley kernels are polished or "pearled" to remove the inedible hull part of the grain. Barley sold as pearl barley is more polished than pot barley, which has more of the bran left on. Barley will keep up to 6 months in an airtight container.
To cook barley; cover with a 4 to 1 ratio of water or stock to barley and cook for about 40 to 60 minutes or until tender. Try substituting barley for rice in your favourite pilaf dish for a novel change.
Nutritional information
Per serving: 500 cal, 28 g protein, 27 g fat, 39 g carb, 8 g fibre, 1067 mg sodium. Excellent source vit A, vit C, vit B6, folacin, iron. Good source thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, calcium, magnesium, zinc.
Source
Homemakers Magazine: September 2003
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