Lentil-stuffed Peppers

There’s no tastier way to obtain all your daily vitamin C quota than this super-easy dish. I like to use Romano peppers because their thinner flesh means they cook quicker than ordinary peppers but both work equally well. Here, they are filled with cooked lentils and Goat’s cheese, which means they’re packed with fibre, protein and iron too. You can substitute feta for the Goat’s cheese. 

Photo credit: http://www.adrianlawrencephotography.com/

Serves 2

2 Romano or red peppers

2 tbsp olive oil

1 – 2 crushed garlic cloves

1 small onion, chopped

250g pack ready-cooked Puy or beluga Lentils (e.g. Merchant Gourmet)

75g (3 oz) baby plum tomatoes, halved

50g (2oz) Goat’s cheese, crumbled

A few fresh basil leaves, roughly torn

 

Heat the oven to 190 C/ fan 170 C/ Gas 5.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a heavy-based pan and sauté the onions for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another minute. Stir in the lentils, tomatoes and Goat’s cheese and remove from the heat.

Cut the peppers in half lengthways, keeping the stalk attached, and remove the seeds. Brush the outsides with the remaining olive oil then place them, skin-side down, in a roasting tin. Spoon the lentil mixture into the 4 pepper halves. Cover loosely with foil.

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the peppers are just tender. Scatter over the basil leaves. Serve with a leafy salad and cooked wholegrain cous cous.