CAULIFLOWER RICE STUFFED PEPPERS

 Apologies for not posting any recipes for a wee while. Life has been fairly hectic recently, but in a good way! The house has been like a hotel these past few weeks, which although hard work, is quite wonderful!

​I am blessed indeed that people want to come and stay and I love feeding people!

​Anyway I've been meaning to share a recipe for stuffed peppers for a while.  Peppers are in season just now and so cheap and they make a rather delicious meal when stuffed with something! Red, yellow and orange peppers are packed with vitamin C, beta carotene, loads of vitamins and minerals and are easier to digest than the green ones, which are just unripe red ones! So always go for the red, orange or yellow ones!

Peppers boost the immune system,  can help flush toxins from the body, due to their high water content, and also contain lycopene, a cancer fighting phytochemical, also present in tomatoes.

​There are so many options here, I normally use couscous or brown rice as the base then add veggies and flavourings but I was intrigued by this recipe from The Minimalist Baker.

Smoky Mexican inspired gluten free cauliflower rice stuffed peppers sounded rather wonderful, healthy and packed with flavour which ticks a lot of boxes for me.

​Cauliflower rice is becoming very on trend among those avoiding gluten and carbs and since I am a massive fan of veggies, I am constantly on the lookout for new ways to incorporate more of them into our diet. Cauliflower rice along with courgetti and sweet potato noodles have been a total revelation and I love them all!

​Both Alastair, myself and Laura decided to do a wee 3 day juice and soup cleanse last week and this was an ideal intro back to solid food! Admittedly Laura was the only one who didn't cheat! Its so tempting when you are surrounded by food so I did have some oatcakes and some coconut chips and I tricked Alastair into having a glass of red wine! We were watching Outlander which I have become very fond of, mostly due to the rather fit and handsome Jamie! I thought I needed a glass of wine so poured myself one, took a sip then decided against it and had some coconut water instead. Alastair then had to drink it although he could have easily poured it back into the bottle!

​Anyway we are all back to eating normally again, though I am still having juices every morning and feeling the benefits!

​So back to the recipe, its main filling ingredient is cauliflower, which has become extremely popular as a low carb substitute for rice, plus its packed with cancer fighting phytochemicals, minerals, fibre, vitamins and antioxidants. It is almost as good for you as broccoli but I think gets overlooked because its not green, so not perceived as so healthy!

Cauliflower is pretty much in season all year round in Scotland so its always available and it really is very worthwhile including in your diet.

​I think those of us of a certain age remember soggy cauliflower smothered in cheese sauce which does not bring back good memories!
​Cooking it quickly and adding flavourings like garlic, spices and herbs really make it versatile and surprisingly delicious, so if you have been avoiding cauliflower, this could be the recipe to get you back on the cauliflower loving train!
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​I adapted the recipe and added sun dried tomatoes and sweetcorn but this is one of those recipes you can add whatever you like and make your own combinations.

​I served mine with sliced avocado and basil and added a big green salad with garlickly balsamic dressing.  The next time I make them I will be drizzling them with a delicious coriander tahini lemon dressing to make them even more delicious! They would be equally good served cold for lunch and you could easily freeze these too!

So to recap these are a delicious, versatile, nutritious, gluten free, vegan main course or lunch and I can highly recommend them!
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So without further rambling, here is the recipe....

​CAULIFLOWER RICE STUFFED PEPPERS

Ingredients - Serves 4 for main course

• 1 head cauliflower, grated into ‘rice’
• 1 tablespoon rapeseed or olive oil
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
• 1 medium to large red onion, finely chopped
• Pinch each sea salt and black pepper

• 4 large red, yellow or orange bell peppers, halved, seeds removed
• 1 tin (425 g)  black, red kidney beans or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 6 sun dried tomatoes, finely sliced
• 1 cup (250g) frozen, tinned or fresh sweetcorn
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 to 1 tsp chilli flakes or chilli powder, plus more to taste
• 1 - 2 tablespoons lime juice
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C)
2. Put the pepper halves in a large ovenproof dish.
3. Prepare cauliflower rice by breaking your cauliflower into small florets, add to a food processor and blitz until the cauliflower resembles rice grains. You can just pulse a few times, it breaks up easily!
4. Heat a large pan over medium heat, add oil, garlic, red onion, salt and pepper. Sauté for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Then add cauliflower ‘rice’ and stir to coat.
5. Place the lid on to steam the rice for about 1 minute, then remove from heat and transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. You aren't looking to completely cook the 'rice', as it will continue cooking in the oven.
6. Add remaining ingredients -kidney beans, sun dried tomatoes, sweetcorn, spices, lime juice, salt and pepper - to the cauliflower rice and mix to thoroughly combine. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly, adding salt, pepper, or more spices or lime as desired.
7. Generously stuff halved peppers with the mixture until all peppers are full (you may have a little leftover filling, which can be added to salads or served on the side), then cover the dish with foil.
8. Bake for 30 minutes covered, then remove foil, increase heat to 400 degrees F (200 C), and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until peppers are soft and slightly golden brown. For softer peppers, bake 5-10 minutes more. Serve with avocado, lime juice, and fresh herbs.
9. Best when fresh, though leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Reheat in a 350 degree F (176 C) oven until warmed through - about 20 minutes.