I was inspired by the flavours of lamb kofta when creating this recipe for stuffed sweet peppers or capsicum.
The long peppers are the perfect vehicle for stuffing as they stay put on the roasting pan. It’s fairly obvious why they are known as bull horn peppers!
My stuffing combines pantry staples and fresh ingredients that channel middle eastern flavours. Meat stuffed capsicums are certainly comfort food but I have kept it on the lighter side of comfort, with a topping of a fresh salad of mint, chili, preserved lemon and feta cheese.
It is a bit of a challenge to get just enough stuffing for the number of peppers you are using but the stuffing freezes well for future use and variations on the theme. Lamb rissoles anyone?
Video
Preheat oven to 180°C fan forced. Cook the pearl couscous in boiling well salted water until tender (al dente like pasta), drain in a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Toast pine nuts on small baking tray in oven for 5-10 minutes until start to turn golden, shake the tray several times.
Prepare peppers by using a small paring knife to cut out lids from one side of each pepper, remove the seeds & membrane, reserve the “lids.”
Prepare & assemble stuffing. Chop onion into medium sized dice. Then, chop reserved pepper “lids” into medium sized dice. Slice zucchini into 5mm rounds. Slice chilies in half lengthwise, remove seeds & membrane (use disposable gloves). Finely dice chilies. Deseed tomatoes and chop into medium dice.
Preheat oven 220°C fan forced
Heat non-stick medium sized frying pan on med-high heat & add oil.
Brown minced lamb, turning once it starts to caramelise
Add chopped onions, peppers, chilies, crushed garlic, coriander, and cumin
Cook while stirring occasionally until the vegetables begin to soften.
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt & pepper.
Transfer to a bowl
If preparing the stuffing in advance, cool the meat mixture. Otherwise, continue with the stuffing.
Add and combine the remaining stuffing ingredient gently including, couscous, fresh tomato, zucchini, pine nuts and feta cheese.
Stuff the prepared peppers, pressing the stuffing in quite firmly, and finish with a rounded top.
Roast on a baking paper lined tray 20-25 minutes.
You want the lamb cooked through, the peppers holding their shape but with a few charred bits starting to develop.
Keep warm until ready to serve.
Meanwhile, prep the salsa and yoghurt sauce.
Rinse the preserved lemon under cold water, remove the lemon segments (you just want the peel)
Dice the preserved lemon peel
Slice chili in half lengthwise, remove seeds & membrane (use disposable gloves)
Finely dice chili
Pick mint leaves from stems & roughly chop Crumble feta
Combine Salsa in bowl and set aside.
Serve stuffed peppers with fresh salsa on top
Whisk Greek yoghurt & serve in a shallow dish drizzled with olive oil
Lamb Stuffed Sweet Peppers
Equipment
- Large sheet pan or roasting pan
- Baking paper
- Small non stick baking tray / cake pan
- Colander
- Measuring cups & spoons
- mixing bowls
Ingredients
Stuffed peppers ingredients:
- 8 x long sweet red peppers
- 1/2 cup pearl couscous
- 500 g minced lamb
- 1 large brown onion diced
- 2 large cloves garlic crushed
- 3 x large vine ripened tomatoes
- 5-6 baby zucchini
- 2 long red chilies
- ½ cup pine nuts
- 100-150 g feta cheese
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 tablespoon grapeseed oil
- Salt & pepper
Salsa & yoghurt sauce ingredients:
- 100-150 g feta cheese
- 1 small bunch fresh mint
- 1 large preserved lemon
- 1 long red chili
- 1 cup full fat Greek yoghurt
- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Stuffed peppers:
- Preheat oven to 180°C fan forced
- Cook the pearl couscous in boiling well salted water until tender (al dente like pasta), drain in a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water.
- Toast pine nuts on small baking tray in oven for 5-10 minutes until start to turn golden, shake the tray several times.
- Prepare peppers by using a small paring knife to cut out lids from one side of each pepper, remove the seeds & membrane, reserve the “lids”
- Increase oven 220°C fan forced
- Heat non-stick medium sized frying pan on med-high heat & add oil.
- Brown minced lamb, turning once it starts to caramelise
- Add chopped onions, peppers, chilies, crushed garlic, coriander, and cumin
- Cook while stirring occasionally until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Taste and adjust seasoning with salt & pepper.
- Transfer to a bowl
- If preparing the stuffing in advance, cool the meat mixture. Otherwise, continue with the stuffing.
- Add and combine the remaining stuffing ingredient gently including, couscous, fresh tomato, zucchini, pine nuts and feta cheese.
- Stuff the prepared peppers, pressing the stuffing in quite firmly, and finish with a rounded top.
- Roast on a baking paper lined tray 20-25 minutes.
- The lamb is already cooked through, so you want the peppers holding their shape but see a few charred bits starting to develop.
- Keep warm until ready to serve.
Fresh Salsa:
- Rinse the preserved lemon under cold water, remove the lemon segments (you just want the peel)
- Dice the preserved lemon peel
- Slice chili in half lengthwise, remove seeds & membrane (use disposable gloves)
- Finely dice chili
- Pick mint leaves from stems & roughly chop
- Crumble feta
- Combine Salsa in bowl and set aside.
- Whisk Greek yoghurt & serve in a shallow dish drizzled with olive oil
- Top with fresh salsa & serve immediately, with yoghurt on the side.
Made this the other day and it really works well! Delicious combination of flavours and visually appealing. It got great reviews with my tribe.