Quinoa Stuffed Wax Peppers in Tomato Sauce

No worries in the protein department after enjoying this delicious, nutritious meal. Quinoa is one of the best plant based protein sources, very versatile and on top of that so tasty. Combined with the tangy taste of wax peppers and flavorful tomato sauce, your taste buds will crave more than just one serving. Just give in to it, because this dish is on the light side.

You will need:

• 13 x 9″ casserole dish (or other oven safe dish)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups (227 g) any color quinoa (I used tricolor)
• 3 cups (~ 700 ml) filtered water
• 1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 8 oz (240 g) cremini mushrooms, diced
• 2 medium size zucchinis, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 4 oz (120 g) frozen corn
• 2 Tbsp veggie broth concentrate (or substitute with store-bought vegetable broth concentrate to taste)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning or 1 tsp of each (dried thyme, basil, and oregano)
• 8 wax peppers, top cut off, cored and seeds removed (or 4 red bell peppers, halved with seeds and ribs removed, if you don’t like it hot)
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil for baking dish

Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• generous 3 lb (1500 g) tomatoes, diced
• 3 Tbsp veggie broth concentrate (or substitute with store-bought vegetable broth concentrate to taste)
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning or 1 tsp of each dried thyme, basil, and oregano
• minced fresh herbs like basil, thyme, oregano, parsley galore (maybe leave some whole to garnish)

Preparation:

Follow instructions on package to cook quinoa in 3 cups water and salt. Wash and cut your vegetables, and preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Heat a large pot or sauce pan. Add the olive oil with diced onion and sauté for about 10 minutes or until soft, stirring frequently. Add the diced mushrooms and sauté for 5 more minutes. Stir in zucchini, bell pepper, corn, the veggie broth concentrate, paprika and dried herbs. Cook for 5-10 more minutes until the bell pepper begins to soften. Don’t overcook though! Stir in cooked quinoa and stuff the cored wax peppers with the veggie quinoa mix. There will be a lot left over to serve on the side. Place the stuffed peppers into your oiled oven-safe dish. Use a basting brush to coat the peppers with some of the olive oil. Bake in preheated oven for 30 – 40 minutes until the wax peppers are soft and take on a little bit of color. Keep checking! While the stuffed peppers are baking in the oven, prepare your tomato sauce.

Heat a large pot or saucepan on medium. Add olive oil and diced onion and sauté for about 10 minutes until onion is soft. Add diced tomatoes, and stir in all other sauce ingredients except fresh herbs. Cook for about 20 minutes until tomatoes fall apart. If you like a more chunky sauce, leave it as is. Otherwise puree your sauce and reheat. Add minced herbs and stir in. If you like, garnish with whole basil leaves, oregano or thyme twigs and parsley, but that’s up to you. Reheat the veggie quinoa that you didn’t use as a stuffing. You can add a couple spoonfulls of tomato sauce and fresh herbs to the casserole dish with the peppers to dress them up a little. Wax peppers have some heat, so roll up your sleeves and enjoy!

Notes:

• If you have kids or just don’t like spicy food, go for the bell pepper version! Especially the tips of wax peppers have some heat. Banana peppers are also in the lower heat range, but look very similar to wax peppers. Don’t confuse them or you might be in for a fiery surprise!
• You can serve it with vegan Parmesan cheese on the side, if you want.