Peppers Stuffed with Quinoa and Three Cheeses

For vegetarians, the pickings are slim at Fiesta Nicaragua, the annual October fundraising event held by our favorite Nicaraguan NGO. But every year, I can count on rice and beans and stuffed peppers. The Fiesta’s cook uses green bell peppers, filled with white cheese, cooked to softness and swimming in an unctuous pool of tomato sauce.

Last week at my farm stand, I saw a bushel of little “cheese peppers”—smashed wee peppers about half the size of bell peppers. I knew the time was right for me to make my own cheese-stuffed peppers.



My online recipe search was a bust. Every recipe called for enormous amounts of cheese, breading, batter, deep fat frying. With the exception of falafel, deep fat frying is verboten in Copywriters Kitchen.

So days went by. The peppers started to spot. I hurried to the fridge to see what kind of intervention I could throw together: A slab of Monterey Jack just beginning to mold. Half a carton of cottage cheese. And about three pounds of organic quinoa purchased in a spring quinoa fling inspired by 101 Cookbooks.

At the last minute I threw some pastured ground beef into half of the recipe to sate my blood-thirsty, carnivorous teen son.





The peppers were delicious—even if they were healthy and low fat.

Peppers Stuffed with Quinoa and Three Cheeses

8 cheese peppers or 4 bell peppers
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 rib celery, minced
1 onion, chopped fine
1 clove garlic
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 egg
1 cup cottage cheese or ricotta
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
½ lb. cooked pastured ground beef (optional)
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using 1 teaspoon of olive oil, grease a shallow baking or jelly roll pan.
2. Wash peppers and pat dry. If using small cheese peppers, cut off stem and top. If using whole bell peppers, cut in half horizontally to form eight pepper halves. Remove seeds. Arrange peppers in pan.
3. Slide peppers into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the peppers from the oven and let peppers sit as you prepare the stuffing. Note: I like my peppers cooked very soft. If you like a crisper pepper, skip this step and stuff the peppers raw.
4. In a large skillet, heat remaining oil over medium heat. When oil is fragrant, add minced celery and chopped onion. Stir vegetables and fry for 3-4 minutes, adjusting flame so vegetables don’t burn. Add crushed garlic and continue to fry for another 2-3 minutes.
5. In the meantime, if using ground beef, fry meat in a skillet, breaking it up as it cooks. Remove from flame and reserve.
6. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, egg, cottage cheese or ricotta, cheddar cheese, oregano, salt and pepper.
7. When onions/celery/garlic mixture is cooked, add to quinoa/egg/cheese mixture, stirring well to blend. If using meat, add to all or part of quinoa/cheese mixture.
8. Spoon quinoa/cheese mixture into peppers. Top with Parmesan cheese. Slide pan of stuffed peppers into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until peppers are baked, filling is hot and Parmesan is golden brown.

Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6.