Stuffed Bell Peppers

When J and I first got married, I attempted to make stuffed green peppers one night for dinner. I stuffed them with cornmeal and who knows what else. I was "following" a recipe, but clearly didn't follow it well. They were h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e. They are legendary around here..."Hey, remember that time you made stuffed peppers?" Yeah, yuck.

Fifteen years later, and with a little more culinary wisdom, I decided to give it another try. I'm happy to say, the second go 'round was much better. These were tasty and I'm looking forward to trying variations of this one again soon. I made a few changes and didn't actually make the sauce (I didn't have any basil on hand) this time. But I love the idea of a basil sauce, so I can't wait to try that.

STUFFED PEPPERS WITH BASIL SAUCE
adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis

Filling:

• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 3/4 cup couscous (I used quinoa)

• 1 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (I used black beans)

• 1/4 cup dried currants (I used smoked sun dried tomatoes)

• 1 packed cup chopped baby spinach leaves

• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling (I used less)

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 2 medium red bell peppers

• 1 medium yellow bell pepper (I omitted)

• 1 medium orange bell pepper (I omitted)

• Hot water, as needed

Sauce:

• 1 packed cup fresh basil leaves

• 1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) creme fraiche (or sour cream)

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon water

• 1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped

• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus extra, as needed

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra, as needed

Directions

Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Filling: In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken broth and cumin to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the couscous. Cover the pan until the couscous is tender and all of the liquid has been absorbed, about 5 to 6 minutes. Or, cook quinoa according to package directions but add the chicken broth as the liquid and add cumin. Put the couscous/quinoa in a large bowl and add the beans, currants/sun dried tomatoes, spinach, feta and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir until all the ingredients are combined.

Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all the ribs and seeds. If necessary, cut a very thin slice from the base to help the peppers stand up. Stuff the peppers with the filling and drizzle the tops with olive oil. Put the peppers in an 8 by 8-inch square baking dish. Fill the baking dish with 3/4-inch hot water and bake until the filling is golden and the peppers are cooked through, about 55 to 60 minutes. Cooks Note: If the filling begins to brown too quickly, cover the pan with foil.)

Sauce: In a blender, combine the basil, creme fraiche, olive oil, water, garlic, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste.

Remove the peppers from the oven and arrange on serving plates. Spoon the sauce around the peppers and serve.