Grilled Stuffed Peppers with Spiced Chicken and Freekeh
Ruth Bardis
Category
Entree
Cuisine
Mediterranean, Middle Eastern
Servings
8
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
80 minutes
Total Time
1 Hour 35 Minutes
Grilled stuffed peppers with a sweet, smoky filling of nutty freekeh, spiced chicken, dried fruit, crunchy almonds, and a layer of melty mozzarella make for a hearty main course, no need to turn on the oven!
Ingredients
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1/2 cup freekeh or brown rice
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Extra virgin olive oil
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1 large yellow onion, finely diced
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2 garlic cloves, minced
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1 pound ground chicken
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Kosher salt
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1 teaspoon sugar
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1 teaspoon black pepper
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1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
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1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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1 teaspoon ground clove
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1 teaspoon paprika
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1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
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1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
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1/4 cup currants or raisins
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1/4 cup finely chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
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1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
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2 yellow bell peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
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2 red bell peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
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1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
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Lemon juice, to serve
Directions
Cook the freekeh. Place 1/2 cup freekeh in a fine mesh strainer. Rinse it thoroughly under cold running water to remove any debris. Transfer the rinsed freekeh to a medium-sized saucepan. Add 1 1/4 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover the saucepan, and let it simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until soft but still slightly chewy. Once cooked, drain any excess liquid and set the freekeh aside to cool.
Sauté the aromatics. Heat about 1/4 cup olive oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy-bottomed skillet. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, and cook, stirring often until soft, translucent, and aromatic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Cook the chicken. Add the ground chicken to the pan and break it apart as it cooks. Let it cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is no longer pink.
Season the chicken. Season the chicken mixture generously with salt, then add sugar, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, clove, and paprika. Mix thoroughly to ensure that the spices coat the chicken evenly. Allow it to cook until aromatic for another 5 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. It will be a relatively dry mixture.
Combine the filling. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the cooked freekeh, almonds, apricots, currants, parsley, and Parmesan cheese. Mix well to combine. Taste the filling and adjust the seasoning with more salt as needed.
Stuff the peppers. Using a spoon, carefully pack the filling into each pepper half, pressing down gently to maximize the filling inside each one.
Get ready to grill. Light coals or preheat the outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Bank coals or configure burners so as to have cooking zones for both direct and indirect heat.
Grill the peppers. Place peppers onto the hot grill grates over direct heat. Grill until the skins of the peppers are beginning to pick up color and blacken in spots, 3 to 5 minutes. As they are ready, transfer them to the area of the grill for indirect cooking. Once all peppers are ready, close the grill and continue to cook until the peppers have softened and absorbed the smoky flavors and the filling on top appears somewhat toasted, about 10 to 15 minutes more.
Finish and serve. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the peppers. Close the grill lid and let it cook for until the cheese has melted, about about 5 more minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the peppers to a serving dish so as not to squeeze the filling out with tongs. Garnish peppers with a drizzle of lemon juice and chopped parsley.
Nutrition
Calories 282, Carbs 20.4 grams, Protein 19.5 grams, Fat 14.8 grams, Saturated Fat 5.4 grams, Polyunsaturated Fat 2000 milligrams, Monounsaturated Fat 6000 milligrams, Trans Fat 0.04 grams, Cholesterol 70.8 milligrams, Sodium 283.2 milligrams, Potassium 720.4 milligrams, Fiber 3.8 grams, Sugar 8.4 grams, Vitamin C 98.7 milligrams, Calcium 215.8 milligrams, Iron 2 milligrams