Happy Halloween!

#MeatlessMondays

Celebrate Halloween with these spooktacular healthy stuffed peppers. They’re perfect for a Halloween buffet or a family dinner ahead of trick-or-treating.

Prep:25 mins

Cook:35 mins

Ingredients

  • 4 small peppers (a mix of orange, red and yellow looks nice)
  • 25g pine nuts
  • 1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
  • 1 red onion , chopped
  • 2 fat garlic cloves , crushed
  • 1 small aubergine , chopped into small pieces
  • 200g pouch mixed grains (we used bulghur wheat and quinoa)
  • 2 tbsp sundried tomato paste
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • bunch basil , chopped

Cooking Instructions

  1. Cut the tops off the peppers (keeping the tops to one side) and remove the seeds and any white flesh from inside. Use a small sharp knife to carve spooky Halloween faces into the sides. Chop any offcuts into small pieces and set aside.
  2. Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan for a few mins until golden, and set aside. Heat the oil in the pan, and heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cook the onion in the oil for 8-10 mins until softened. Stir in the garlic, pepper offcuts and aubergine and cook for another 10 mins, until the veggies are soft. Add a splash of water if the pan looks dry. Season.
  3. Squeeze the pouch of grains to break them up, then tip into the pan with the tomato paste. Stir for a minute or two to warm through, then remove from the heat and add the lemon zest, basil and pine nuts.
  4. Fill each pepper with the grain mixture. Replace the lids, using cocktail sticks to secure them in place, and put the peppers in a deep roasting tin with the carved faces facing upwards. Cover with foil and bake for 35 mins, uncovered for the final 10. The peppers should be soft and the filling piping hot.

    Why Meatless Monday?

    • Meatless Monday is of utmost importance, especially in the United States, as we consume much more animal products than the rest of the world.
    • The meat industry uses vast amounts of our finite fossil fuels and water and lots of grain to feed livestock, which is extremely inefficient. Why not use those resources to feed people more directly?
    • About 1,850 gallons of water is needed to produce a singular pound of beef, comparable to only 39 gallons of water per pound of vegetables. A vegetarian diet alone could dramatically reduce water consumption by 58% per person!
    • Meat production also is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, which has proven to correlate to the climate change crisis. 
    • Some benefits of eating plant-based once a week include:
      • Save 133 gallons of water with each meatless meal!
      • Reduce your carbon footprint by 8 pounds each Meatless Monday you participate in
      • If you commit to participating in Meatless Monday every Monday, that is equivalent to skipping one serving of beef for a year, would save the same amount of emissions as driving 348 miles in a car.

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