Ingredients
Quinoa:
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup red quinoa
Peppers:
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 clove minced garlic
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 2 large red bell peppers
- 2 large green bell peppers
- 2 cups lightly packed stemmed and julienned kale leaves
- 1/4 cup toasted pepitas
- 1 1/2 cups finely ground panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- Roasted Tomatillo Avocado Sauce, recipe follows, for garnish
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs, for garnish
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
For the quinoa: Over medium-high heat, bring the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. As the broth is coming to boil, add the quinoa, then stir and cover. Reduce the heat to a simmer and steam the quinoa until the grains pop, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
For the peppers: Set a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and add the turkey, crushed red pepper flakes and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until well browned, 5 to 7 minutes, while stirring with a wooden spoon and breaking up the pieces. Deglaze with the wine. While the turkey is browning, rinse the peppers and pat dry. With the pepper lying down on its side, cut off the top and remove the seeds and membrane. Repeat for the remaining peppers. Leave the stem on the top for presentation. Set aside.
Once the turkey is browned, shut off the heat and fold in the quinoa, kale and pepitas. Mix to incorporate all ingredients thoroughly. Check for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper if required.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the panko and Parmesan. Add a drizzle of olive oil to lightly moisten and season with salt and pepper. Set the peppers on a roasting tray cut-side up and stuff each with about 1/3 cup of filling. Top each pepper half with about 2 tablespoons of panko-Parmesan topping. Cover loosely with foil, place in the center of the oven and bake for 15 minutes. When the peppers are tender and cooked through, remove the foil and turn on the broiler. Cook under the broiler to brown the panko breadcrumbs and crisp up, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the peppers from the oven and allow to rest before serving.
To present, place 1/4 cup of Roasted Tomatillo Avocado Sauce on a plate and place the roasted, stuffed pepper halves in the middle of sauce. Garnish with parsley sprigs.
Roasted Tomatillo Avocado Sauce:
- 6 medium tomatillos (about 8 ounces), husked
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and diced
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/2 jalapeno, coarsely chopped and seeds removed
- 1/2 sweet onion, like Maui or Vidallia, rough chopped
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 handful fresh cilantro leaves
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the tomatillos onto a baking sheet. Toss the tomatillos with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and place into the oven. Roast until nicely charred, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Combine the tomatillos, 1/4 cup water, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, avocado, garlic, jalapenos, onions, lime juice and cilantro in a blender and puree until completely smooth. Place in the refrigerator and allow the sauce to settle before serving, so it is smooth.
Photo: Turkey and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers Recipe

















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By bernice125
San Francisco, CA
on April 09, 2013
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Very tasty, and super easy to make.
By wetchman
Omaha, NE
on March 29, 2013
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Great base recipe! I made the following modifications:
- Used 88% lean ground beef (didn't have turkey
- Used spinach (didn't have kale
- I added 1 14 ounce can of tomato sauce and 1 14 ounce can of petite diced tomatoes. I may use tomato paste next time since this was pretty wet/juicy.
- I added 1/4 tsp Oregano leaves and 1/4 tsp thyme leaves
- I chopped up the peppers into large chunks and combined everything into a casserole dish and baked it in the oven at 400 until the top was golden brown and crispy
I skipped the bread crumbs and only added the parmesan
So... while I kind of made something a little different, this is a great base recipe. And the green tomatillo sauce is fantastic. On that, however, I'd recommend adding the lime juice last, and doing it to taste. I used a whole lime and would have preferred it a little less tart. But DON'T skip the jalapeno. It adds essential flavor, and I got no heat out of one. I may use two next time.
By averagegirl
Austin, TX
on March 10, 2013
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In short delicious. I'm bog a kale quenoa kinds person (I wanna be and this was great. Followed the recipe for the most part and loved it. I will add this as a new toto healthy cylinder. Thanks Guy!
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