Roasted Bell Peppers with Quinoa & Feta paired with Sweet Potato Salad mixed with Coriander & Lime Zest!

Whipping up a two-course meal is never a speedy, easy task. But when you finally sit down, 4 hours later, to dig into your culinary creation of Roasted Stuffed Bell Peppers with Quinoa & Feta Cheese, paired with Sweet Potato Salad fused with Coriander & Lime, your exhaustion is completely wiped off your face and replaced with a massive, massive grin! These two pair very well with each other. Red Bell Peppers are an excellent source of Vitamin C. Quinoa is packed with protein. Sweet Potato is high in Vitamin B-6. Your two-course meal is just bursting with flavor, goodness and if delivered by my partners “Greenheart Organic Farms” – then you’ve got yourself an organic, seasonal and super healthy meal to look forward to.

Roasted Bell Peppers stuffed with quinoa, feta & zucchini

1 cup dry quinoa

6 bell peppers (I used 2 large and 5 medium sized peppers. Aim for red bell pepper for a high dose of Vitamin-C)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 of a large onion, chopped

2 medium zucchini chopped

3 tablespoons thick tomato paste

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

150grams of low fat crumbled feta cheese (more or less to your heart’s desire!)

seasonings: salt, pepper, oregano, basil, rosemary sprinkles…

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

1. Cook 1 cup of dry quinoa according to your packet directions. Then set aside.

2. Halve the bell peppers and take out the seeds and membrane. Line a baking sheet over a tray and place the pepper halves facing up on the sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the peppers start to soften slightly. Take the peppers out of the oven and let them sit while you prepare the following filling….

3. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onion and zucchini. Cook for about 5-8 minutes until the veggies start to soften slightly. Add some seasonings (salt, pepper, herbs) to taste.

4. Turn off the heat and add the tomatoes and tomato paste to the veggie mixture. Add your cooked quinoa to the mix then toss in the feta cheese.

5. Fill the pepper halves with heaping amounts of the quinoa mixture. Bake the filled peppers for another 15/20  minutes until the tops turn nice and golden brown. Enjoy with the following Sweet Potato side dish (below).

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Sweet Potato Salad with Coriander and Lime Zest

Ingredients

1 extra large or 3 medium sweet potatoes chopped

1 green pepper chopped

2 celery stalks chopped

1/4 cup red onion minced

3 garlic cloves minced

1 tbsp. cumin

1 tbsp. chili powder or a splash of tabasco

4 tbsp. orange juice

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 large lime

A tablespoon of dried rosemary sprinkles

A tablespoon of dried basil sprinkles

A generous handful of fresh cilantro

Directions:

1.  Place chopped sweet potatoes to a pot of boiling water.  Boil for approx. 20 minutes or until soft and tender.

2.  Drain potatoes and set aside.

3.  Mix your chopped pepper, red onion, garlic, cumin, chili powder, rosemary, basil and fresh cilantro into bowl.

4.  Create your salad dressing by whisking the orange juice, olive oil and the juice from lime.
5.  Mash the potatoes a bit (keep some chunky pieces in there!) and mix it with the all the other ingredients along with the dressing. Coat well.

5.  Chill potato salad in the fridge for as long as you can, the more, the merrier to fuse all the flavors together.

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Both recipes bought to you by a devoted foodie, Noura El-Imam, founder of Yogalates Bliss in Dubai | http://www.yogalatesblissindubai.com