Fresh peppers from the garden are a summer favourite of mine. Inspired by the time of year, I whipped together this recipe using Canadian turkey, peppers, cheese, corn and onion! I used couscous as a stuffing ingredient but Canadian quinoa or barley are great alternatives.

Ingredients

8 bell peppers (colour of your choosing)
1 lb ground turkey
1 small white onion, finely chopped
1 cup small grain (I used whole grain couscous because it’s all I had but quinoa or barley would work great as well)
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups frozen corn
1/2 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cheese, shredded and divided
2 cans tomato paste
Dash of cayenne
Salt and pepper, to taste
Optional: green onions for garnish

Instructions

1. In a large pot, bring water to a boil. While the water boils prepare the peppers by cutting the tops off and cleaning out the seeds from the inside.

2. In a large frying pan add the turkey, onion and garlic. Break the turkey into very small pieces so that it is easier to combine with the other ingredients and stuff into the peppers.

3. Once the water comes to a boil add the peppers (four at a time) to the water and use a wooden spoon to gently move them around so that they are fully emerged in water. Cook for no more than five minutes. Use a slotted spoon to scoop the peppers out and drain the water from them. Transfer the peppers upside down to double-lined paper towel or kitchen towels (see picture below). Repeat the process with the remaining four peppers. Let the peppers cool while you continue preparing the rest of the ingredients.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the chicken broth and grain (couscous, quinoa or barley) to a small pot and cook over medium-high heat according to the cooking instructions for the grain you choose. If you use couscous, it cooks faster but you need to monitor it that it doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pot because it will absorb the hot liquid quickly.

5. When the turkey is almost fully cooked, add the corn to the mixture to start thawing it. Cook for about five minutes.

6. In a large mixing bowl, add the the cooked grain, turkey mixture, and tomato paste. Mix until fully coated with the tomato paste. Stir in the basil, cayenne, salt, pepper and 1.5 cups cheese (save half a cup to top the peppers with).

7. Use a glass baking pan that will fit the peppers without having too much room to topple over. You want the peppers to cook upright. Lightly spray the baking pan with cooking spray (this is in case the cheese melts off the side it makes for an easier clean up!).

8. One pepper at a time, scoop the stuffing mixture with a spoon into each pepper, gently pressing down to fully stuff without splitting open the pepper. Once filled, gently place in the baking pan. When you are all finished, top with extra filling (if you have any).

9. Bake the peppers for 15 minutes, top with cheese and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Optional: serve with fresh green onions on top of each pepper. ‘

Don’t be fooled by the size of your dish, these are filling! You don’t really need anything else with your meal – it’s all in your pepper!

Bon appetit!