In the interest of not wasting food, I don’t usually make big main dishes when my husband is out of town. Too much food. Not easy to freeze. But these turned out so much better than I expected that I’ll probably polish them off by tomorrow night. And then I’ll wish I’d made more.
I actually had planned on making a Greek salad, but somehow it morphed into stuffed peppers. It was a toss-up between using rice for the stuffing or the organic wheat berries that have been sitting unopened in my cupboard for too long. The wheat berries won out and it was definitely the right choice. Their bite is chewier than rice and works well in this dish. But if you want to keep it gluten-free, I would suggest using brown rice, which has a texture very similar to wheat berries.
I also added capers because their flavor reminds me of stuffed grape leaves, which I’ve been craving lately. Between the capers, kalamata olives, and feta cheese, there’s no need to add salt. And I kept the oil to a minimum – only one tablespoon for the whole dish. Delicious, nutritious, and guilt-free.
For those following Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat To Live program, this complies with the life plan – the feta will be your daily “cheat”.
Ingredients (serves 8)
4 large red, yellow and/or orange bell peppers
1 medium yellow or white onion (diced)
1 cup uncooked wheat berries (or rice for gluten-free option)
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
½ cup sliced, pitted kalamata or black olives
¼ pound feta cheese (cut into cubes)
¼ cup capers (rinsed and drained)
1 14-ounce can lentils (rinsed and drained)
1 cup chopped parsley (firmly packed)
3 large garlic cloves (sliced)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Cook wheat berries or rice per package instructions.
3. Cut peppers in half length-wise and remove ribs and seeds.
4. In a large skillet, saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 8 – 10 minutes until soft.
5. Add the tomatoes, lentils, olives, capers, parsley, and oregano and cook another 5 minutes over medium heat.
6. Mix in 1 cup of the cooked wheat berries (store the remainder for future use) or rice and the feta cheese.
7. Place pepper halves in a baking dish. Stuff each pepper with the mixture, packing it well and slightly mounding it on top.
8. Bake for 15 – 30 minutes, depending on how well you like the peppers cooked. I like mine to still have a little bite to them, so I cooked them for 15 minutes. If you like the peppers thoroughly cooked and soft, let them cook for at least 30 minutes.
9. Place the peppers under the broiler on high for approximately 3 minutes until the cheese just starts to turn brown.
10. Serve hot immediately.
Kathryn says
These look fantastic. I can’t wait to make these later in the week.
(How had I forgotten about stuffed peppers? And the olives & feta? Perfect!)
Amy says
Thanks, Kathryn! I’ve had a version of Greek stuffed peppers before, but never made them myself until now. Really tasty combination. Hope you like them!