I created this recipe when I was living in France, where they use a lot of couscous. Since I love peppers I started experimenting with different combinations and found that there really is no bad combination. You can use any vegetables and even throw in some cooked meat, if you have some that needs to be used up.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Step 2
Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan and stir in the couscous. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
Step 3
Peel the onion and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Cut the ends of the stems off the mushrooms and thinly slice. Peel the carrot and cut into 1/4-inch cubes.
Step 4
Generously coat a sauté pan with cooking spray and add the onion, mushrooms, and carrot. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes, or until the mushrooms are soft. Remove from the heat, add the couscous and peas, and stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 5
Cut the tops off of the peppers and remove and discard the seeds. Place the peppers in a baking pan, trimming the bottoms, if necessary, to make them stand up. Fill the peppers with the couscous mixture and cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the peppers are soft. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Food for Thought
Step 6
At first glance mushrooms seem rather insignificant nutritionally. In fact, the only numbers on the nutrition labels that aren’t zeros are 20 calories and 3 grams of carbs. But, if you dig a little further you will find that they are actually an excellent source of selenium, a mineral that works closely with vitamin E to produce antioxidants that can decrease the risk of cancer and other diseases of aging. They also contain a significant amount of potassium, which helps maintain normal heart rhythm, fluid balance, muscle, and nerve function. And all this time I just thought they tasted good.
