Recipe and Photo by Nadia Tamby

This time of year we seem to have an amazing variety of vegetables in our CSA boxes. I loved making this because I was able to use some leftover leeks and onions from the previous box (they lasted so long!) plus tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers from this week. It was such a flavorful, colorful meal. Just make a side salad and you’re all set for dinner! You can do the prep work ahead of time as well and bake it the day you serve it. Feel free to substitute the cheese here for ground lamb or beef. The exact amounts of onion/ leek/ garlic aren’t that important here, just use what you have. If you don’t have leeks, use more onion or omit the leeks entirely.

Ingredients:

Stuffing:

• 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 medium-sized leek stalk, light green and white parts thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 12-16 oz queso blanco, halloumi, or paneer cheese (these cheeses don’t melt), diced into ~1cm cubes
• ½ cup toasted sliced almonds
• ½ cup golden raisins
• 1 cup leftover basmati rice or quinoa

Sauce:

• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 5 small tomatoes (not cherry tomatoes!) – I used the ones from the box, which were just a little smaller than Roma tomatoes
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Enough water to make this sauce thin enough to pour into the baking dish

Vegetables:

• 5 peppers, tops cut off and insides discarded (don’t forget to remove the white membranes on the inside)
• 3 large zucchini, cut into lengths so that they are about the same height as your peppers. Use a small spoon to “core” the zucchini but make sure not to core all the way through.

Instructions:

Melt butter and olive oil in a large pan and cook garlic, onion, and leeks until softened and about half the volume you started with. Add the spices and cheese and fry until fragrant. If you are using meat instead, this is where you could add the meat and fry until the meat is cooked (it doesn’t need to be fully cooked as you will bake the vegetables with the filling again)

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Mix quinoa and the rest of the filling together with the toasted almonds and golden raisins.

Taste the filling and add salt and pepper to your liking.

Blend the tomatoes, tomato paste, and olive oil, and about a half cup of water in a food processor or blender and pour into a baking dish.

If you’re like me and you get frustrated when you have filled a pepper up – only to have it tip over when you place it in your baking dish….then slice the bottom enough to have it stand up straight (but not so much that your filling can leak out!)

Fill your peppers and zucchini up with the filling and place them into the sauce in the baking dish. Place the pepper lids back on (if you wish – or use those for something else).

Cover the dish with foil and bake for about 35 minutes (at 375F). Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes until tops are browned. Serve hot. You may chop some parsley, cilantro, or green onion and sprinkle on top for a little extra added color and fresh flavor.