Rocket & Roses Shallot, Ful Medames & Sumac Stuffed Bell Peppers (vegan & gluten-free)

Rocket & Roses Kitchen Play List:

Soundgarden ~ I Awake 
Soul Asylum ~ Black Gold
Beth Hart ~ Heaven Look Down
Audioslave ~ Set It Off
U2 ~ With Or Without You
Tina Dico ~ Her Secret
Alicia Keys ~ No One
Little Angels ~ Too Much Too Young
Maroon 5 ~ If I Never See Your Face Again
Status Quo ~ In My Chair
Shakira ~ Underneath Your Clothes (Acoustic)
Glen Campbell ~ Sadly Beautiful
Paloma Faith ~ Trouble With My Baby
Wilko Johnson ~ Ice On The Motorway

We have been enjoying some very beautiful spring sunshine this week. It has been glorious but still a little chilly...hey, it is England after all. Although I am by nature a Autumn/Winter lover...I do love the bright colours and vibrancy of Spring. To see the spring flowers blooming everywhere makes my heart smile and when visiting my sister I love to watch the hundreds of bunnies scampering about. It's such a wonderful time of year. 

I also get a high from looking at the natural beauty that comes in the rainbow colours of fresh vegetables and fruits. And for me bell peppers are one of the most splendid offerings. I know some of you will see 'stuffed peppers' and groan..."Not another stuffed pepper recipe..." as stuffed vegetables, hummus and salad recipes seem to switch peoples minds off which I find sad because what a fantastic way to eat and enjoy bell peppers? And I believe you can never have too many stuffed veggies, hummus and salad recipes...or soup!!

I enjoy making fillings for peppers, courgettes, aubergines, tomatoes, marrow, squash, pumpkins and tomatoes. I think it gives you the opportunity to play around with textures and flavourings. This recipe gave me the chance to try out a 'new to me' flavouring of Sumac. I found a little pot of it at a supermarket and was intrigued. It has a very floral fragrance and looks like a drier blend of chilli powder but the aroma could not be more different..it has a high citrus note. I also use various bulk ingredients like brown rice, quinoa and other grains but today I opted for good old TVP granules. Not the large chewy grisly lumps shudder but the fine textured granules...those I love. But any other filler is would work too so use what you feel comfortable with..just make sure they are cooked off before making this recipe so using leftovers would be great for this. Another key ingredient I selected was a tin of Ful Medames in water. I usually make a breakfast/brunch with them so always have a couple of tins in my stocks. I pick mine up at my local Indian & Continental Store in the nearby city. I really enjoy their unique flavour and the wholesome texture. I also experimented with the stock I used...using two types of tomato paste and one chilli paste dissolved into freshly boiled water. Three large banana shallots and garlic was the base to which I began tinkering with the other ingredients. I enjoyed making this stuffing.

Now...the process of cooking the bell peppers. Personally I don't part cook them first. Why? Because I don't like the mushy element that can sometimes happen after time spent boiling or steaming them and then oven time. I like mine still quite crisp so I add my stuffing to the raw shells and then leave the cooking of them to the oven. However, you can steam/boil them for 5-8 minutes first if you wish lovelies. 

The results were extremely enjoyable. The pepper shells were as I'd hoped...tender crisp. The stuffing was a perfect blend of wholesome comforting textures and unique moreish flavours. I will definitely be making this again...the stuffing would also be great served with pasta too. 

So come on...get stuffing those veggies. The possibilities are endless. Go for it...   

Rocket & Roses Shallot, Ful Medames & Sumac Stuffed Bell Peppers (vegan&GF)

Rocket & Roses Shallot, Ful Medames & Sumac Stuffed Bell Peppers  (Original recipe from the Rocket & Roses Vegan Kitchen)

4 large bell peppers, halved and de-seeded 

3 banana shallots, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, micro-grated
15 baby plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
1 med carrot, peeled and grated
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
6 Brussels sprouts, peeled and finely sliced
1 tsp chilli paste
2 tsp tomato puree
1 tsp sun-dried tomato paste
1/2 cup freshly boiled water
1 tsp Sumac 
1 cup TVP granules 
1 cup low sodium veggie stock
1 15oz tin of Ful Medames in water, rinsed and drained
generous amount of freshly grated black pepper

In a small bowl put the TVP granules and the hot stock and stir well. Leave to soak until needed. 

In a medium sized pan water saute the shallots and garlic until soft and translucent. Adding a little more water if needed to keep from sticking to the pan. Add the tomatoes, carrot, green pepper and Brussels sprouts and stir well. Leave to cook down for approx 5 minutes. 

Put the tomato paste, sun-dried tomato paste and chilli paste into a small bowl and pour over the boiled water and whisk until the pastes have dissolved. Pour into the veggie mixture along with the Sumac and stir well. Generously season with black pepper. Leave to cook for 2 minutes. 

Add the soaked TVP granules into the pan and once again stir well and leave to cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and then add the drained Ful Madames stirring well to evenly distribute them through the veggie mix. Re-season with black pepper. 

Pre-heat the oven to 350'F/180'C/GM 4 and place the bell pepper shells into a very large flat baking dish. Half fill each shelve and flatten down to ensure the filling fills the cavities. Then go back over each one sharing out the remaining filling into mounds. Loosely cover the dish with tin foil and place into the oven. Cook for 30 minutes covered and then remove the tin foil and cook for a further 15 minutes or until the pepper shells are to your preferred texture. Serve one whole pepper per person with a green salad. 

Enjoy! 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your day is as sunny as mine...

~Red~

NB: This is my creation. I have no problem with you using it or sharing it. I simply ask that you give credit where it's due and provide links back to this posting and I always do with others. Many thanks...~R~