Orzo & Lentil Stuffed Roasted Peppers is a super flavourful, healthy vegetarian lunch or dinner meal. Roasted peppers are stuffed with orzo pasta, lentils, feta cheese, Kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil!
This recipe is super simple to make and very nutritious with SO MUCH flavour! I love the taste of roasted peppers. The roasting process brings out the sweetness of bell peppers and a slight smokiness flavour.
What I love about this recipe is that it can be enjoyed both warm & cold! I sometimes fully stuff the red peppers and enjoy only as a warm dish. Other times, instead of fully stuffing the peppers, I keep some of the lentil orzo stuffing and refrigerate to have as a cold salad the next day.
Recipe
Serves 6
Ingredients
1 1/4 cup of dry orzo pasta
3/4 cup of dried lentils
1 1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
3/4 cup of feta cheese, crumbled
3/4 cup of Kalamata olives
4 large bell peppers, sliced in half
1 cup of fresh basil
5 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tbsp. of olive oil for peppers
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil for orzo mixture
1 tsp of oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
First preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place sliced red peppers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and add olive oil, garlic gloves and some salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 20 minutes
Cook orzo and lentils separately in boiling salted water according to package instructions. Orzo usually takes 8-10 minutes and lentils 20-25 minutes to cook. Drain and add both to a bowl
Combine orzo and lentils with Kalamata olives, crumbled feta, cherry tomatoes as well as fresh basil
Add olive oil, oregano and salt & pepper to taste. Mix well
Stuff the orzo mixture inside roasted peppers. Push mixture down with a spoon to fully stuff the peppers
Place stuffed peppers in the oven for an additional 5 minutes
Alternatively you can stuff the peppers a little less and keep some of the orzo lentil mixture to have as a cold salad the next day!
