Chorizo, Beef and Couscous Stuffed Peppers
Photography by Aaron McLean.

King sweetie peppers can be found in most supermarkets and vege shops these days, but the standard bell peppers work just as well.
Serves: 4–6
INGREDIENTS
6 long red peppers or red bell peppers
¼ cup couscous
¼ cup boiling water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 chorizo sausage, finely chopped
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
400 grams beef mince
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
½ cup pitted black olives
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
580 gram jar tomato pasta sauce
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180˚C.
Sauce: Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and cook the onion, garlic and paprika with a pinch of salt until the onion is tender. Stir in the pasta sauce and set aside.
Peppers: Combine the couscous and water in a small bowl, cover and leave for 10 minutes.
Trim the stems off the peppers and remove the seeds, keeping the peppers whole.
Place in large heatproof dish and pour over enough boiling water to cover. Leave for 5 minutes then lift out and drain well.
Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and cook the onion, carrot, garlic and paprika until the onion is tender. Stir in the chorizo and parsley and cook for 1 minute. Tip into a large bowl and cool.
Add the couscous and mince, season generously and combine well. Clean hands are best for this.
To assemble: Holding each pepper upright, drop in small pieces of the stuffing then use the handle of a wooden spoon to gently push it right to the bottom of the pepper. Continue until full to the top and repeat with the remaining peppers. You may not use all of the filling.
Tip the tomato sauce into a large shallow baking dish and place the peppers and their stems, on top. Roll any unused filling into balls and place around the peppers along with the olives. Drizzle with a little olive oil and freshly ground pepper.
Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 10 minutes until golden and the peppers are tender when pierced with a skewer.
Serve with lots of crusty bread and a big green salad.
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Issue #103
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