Couscous Cubanelles
As you may have noticed, every season, I become obsessed with a different vegetable. This summer, it seems my attention is focused on sweet peppers. I got a good deal on a basket of beautiful orange, red and yellow cubanelle (Italian frying) peppers yesterday at the farmers’ market. This helped to feed my addiction.
My mother makes a delicious dish from these peppers, which she learned from my grandmother. She stuffs them with breadcrumbs tossed with parsley, Locatelli, capers, chopped garlic, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Why should I bother describing this tastiness any further? You can get all the details here.
I was inspired by this recipe and what I had in my fridge to create this dish. It seems appropriate, too, because the uncooked Israeli couscous resembles the peppers’ seeds. I don’t know if they surpass my chorizo stuffed peppers, but my dining companion and I both enjoyed them very much. In fact, my dining companion had the leftover half for breakfast.
2 large cubanelle peppers. Choose the straightest and roundest you can find. Halve them and remove the ribs, stem, and seeds.
¾ cup Israeli couscous
¼ cup diced yellow onion
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp olive oil/bacon fat
1 medium tomato, small dice
Large handful of fresh basil and or fresh flat-leafed parsley
2 pieces Canadian bacon, finely cubed
Dollop of cream cheese. You can probably also use ricotta, cottage cheese, or the like.
¼ cup grated Locatelli cheese
1 cup grated cheddar cheese. Mozzarella would have been better, but I didn’t have any.
Salt
Lots of freshly-ground black pepper
½ - 1 cup tomato sauce
1 ½ - 1 ¾ cup water
2 sprigs of basil
Sweat garlic and onion over medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Add couscous and sauté until it smells nutty and some of the pieces are lightly tanned. Add about 1 ¼ cup water. (Check the directions on the box for specifics.) Bring to boil and salt to taste. Once it’s boiling, reduce to a simmer and keep it there for 1 or 2 minutes less than directed on the box. It will probably simmer for 7 – 9 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°. Cook the cubanelle halves on a paper towel in the microwave for about 2 minutes per side. They should be rather flimsy but still have a little bite when they finish their microwave session.
When the couscous is has simmered for several minutes, stir in the tomato, parsley, basil, Canadian bacon, Locatelli, cream cheese, salt and a lot of black pepper. Stir this mixture on a warm burner until the cream cheese melts.
Spray a 9 x 9 casserole with nonstick spray. Spread a thin (or thick) layer of tomato sauce at the bottom of the dish; add a splash of water and the 2 sprigs of basil. Arrange the peppers in the tomato sauce and evenly distribute the couscous mixture among them.
Bake covered for 15 minutes, then uncovered for another 20. When you uncover it, check out the tomato sauce situation and add a little more water if it’s getting too dry for you. After 20 uncovered minutes top with Cheddar or whichever cheese you decide to use as a topping and put back in the oven until the cheese melts, maybe 3 – 5 minutes. You can put it under the broiler for a few minutes if you’d like the cheese to get a bit bubbly and brown.
Plate, spooning some tomato sauce over the top of each. You can eat now if you want to scald your mouth.
-Elena
My mother makes a delicious dish from these peppers, which she learned from my grandmother. She stuffs them with breadcrumbs tossed with parsley, Locatelli, capers, chopped garlic, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Why should I bother describing this tastiness any further? You can get all the details here.
I was inspired by this recipe and what I had in my fridge to create this dish. It seems appropriate, too, because the uncooked Israeli couscous resembles the peppers’ seeds. I don’t know if they surpass my chorizo stuffed peppers, but my dining companion and I both enjoyed them very much. In fact, my dining companion had the leftover half for breakfast.
2 large cubanelle peppers. Choose the straightest and roundest you can find. Halve them and remove the ribs, stem, and seeds.
¾ cup Israeli couscous
¼ cup diced yellow onion
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp olive oil/bacon fat
1 medium tomato, small dice
Large handful of fresh basil and or fresh flat-leafed parsley
2 pieces Canadian bacon, finely cubed
Dollop of cream cheese. You can probably also use ricotta, cottage cheese, or the like.
¼ cup grated Locatelli cheese
1 cup grated cheddar cheese. Mozzarella would have been better, but I didn’t have any.
Salt
Lots of freshly-ground black pepper
½ - 1 cup tomato sauce
1 ½ - 1 ¾ cup water
2 sprigs of basil
Sweat garlic and onion over medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Add couscous and sauté until it smells nutty and some of the pieces are lightly tanned. Add about 1 ¼ cup water. (Check the directions on the box for specifics.) Bring to boil and salt to taste. Once it’s boiling, reduce to a simmer and keep it there for 1 or 2 minutes less than directed on the box. It will probably simmer for 7 – 9 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°. Cook the cubanelle halves on a paper towel in the microwave for about 2 minutes per side. They should be rather flimsy but still have a little bite when they finish their microwave session.
When the couscous is has simmered for several minutes, stir in the tomato, parsley, basil, Canadian bacon, Locatelli, cream cheese, salt and a lot of black pepper. Stir this mixture on a warm burner until the cream cheese melts.
Spray a 9 x 9 casserole with nonstick spray. Spread a thin (or thick) layer of tomato sauce at the bottom of the dish; add a splash of water and the 2 sprigs of basil. Arrange the peppers in the tomato sauce and evenly distribute the couscous mixture among them.
Bake covered for 15 minutes, then uncovered for another 20. When you uncover it, check out the tomato sauce situation and add a little more water if it’s getting too dry for you. After 20 uncovered minutes top with Cheddar or whichever cheese you decide to use as a topping and put back in the oven until the cheese melts, maybe 3 – 5 minutes. You can put it under the broiler for a few minutes if you’d like the cheese to get a bit bubbly and brown.
Plate, spooning some tomato sauce over the top of each. You can eat now if you want to scald your mouth.
-Elena
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