Buckwheat Stuffed Pepper

Ingredients: Red Bell Pepper, Buckwheat, Coconut Milk, Orange Pepper, Broccolini, Garlic, Chia Seeds

For Serving: Red Leaf Lettuce, Cucumber, Snap Peas, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Maldon Flake Salt

This was a “Use It or Lose It Lunch” as so many of mine are. Because I really try to keep food waste to an absolute minimum, I have a lot of meals that come into fruition by sheer luck. The plating is random because the snap peas and the cucumber really wanted to be eaten that day, but let’s talk about the pepper. You can stuff a pepper, or really any vegetable that you can hollow into a container, with an infinite number of filling which is why they have become one of my go to meals. Also, unlike an eggplant or a squash, there is no pre-roast that has to happen, but you probably still have to pre-cook the filling…If you know how I usually roll, you know that I had the buckwheat meal prepped already.

A few days before this, I had soaked my buckwheat for a few hours in room temp water with a splash of apple cider vinegar… read why I soak grains here… but if you’re not into the fuss, no worries. You could also use whatever grain or lentil, for a protein kick, that you like. Anywho, I had made my buckwheat according to standard cooking instructions, but I like to use coconut milk instead of water for extra flavor. When it came time to make this dish, I used about a cup of prepared buckwheat, half of an orange pepper, a handful of chia seeds and a bit of garlic. Mix it all together with a little extra virgin olive oil. Cut the pepper, clean out the ribs and seeds, and rub her with a touch of EVOO. Stuff your filling it into the pepper and really press it in. Bake at 350 degrees until the pepper is cooked and the top is a little crunchy.