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Writer's picture52Steps

Step 33 = Stuffed Peppers with Salmon and Couscous.


- Serves 2 - Ready in 50 minutes (or to save 20 minutes, microwave the cut peppers in a vented, lidded dish for 10 minutes whilst you wait for the oven to heat up, then roast them for just 5 minutes) -

Gather together…

3 peppers (ideally choose red, yellow and orange ones, as they are sweeter than green peppers).

1/2 cup (100g weight on scales) dry couscous.

½ a stock cube or 1 tsp 'Marigold Less Salt Swiss Vegetable Bouillon powder' (available in bulk 1kg tubs).

175ml boiling water.

2 tbsp chopped Parsley, plus extra to garnish, (I grow / buy herbs in bulk and then chop and freeze them, so they are ready to use quickly in recipes).

Zest and juice of 1 lemon OR 1 tbsp orange juice from a carton (if using lemon juice, zest the lemon first with a fine grater, then halve the 'bald' lemon and squeeze out the juice through a sieve to catch any pips).

6 cherry tomatoes, cut into 1/4s (or use chopped sun-dried tomatoes and freeze any leftover from the jar).

Pinch ground black pepper.

2 small (circa 85g in total) fillets of hot-smoked salmon (i.e. ready-to-eat salmon fillets), flaked into chunks.

2 handfuls grated / crumbled cheese (e.g. Cheddar / Wensleydale).

Serve with…

Green salad leaves.

1 tsp fresh / frozen Parsley, per person.

Get cooking…

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 C (180 C fan) or gas mark 6.

2. Chop the 3 peppers in half (from top to bottom) and de-seed (remove the stalks if you want to, or leave them there as they look nice).

3. Boil a half-full kettle of water (for the stock).

4. Put the peppers, cut-side up, onto a baking tray. Roast for 30 minutes, until they are starting to soften.

5. Meanwhile, make up the stock in a jug - if you are using the bouillon powder, be sure to sieve the 1tsp of dry powder into the 175ml hot water to avoid lumps.

6. Put the 1/2 cup of dry couscous in a large, heat proof, lidded bowl (such as a pyrex dish), add the stock, then cover and leave for 10 minutes. 7. Once the couscous has swelled up, fluff up the couscous with a fork and stir into it the 2 tbsp of Parsley, the lemon juice (or use 1 tbsp of orange juice from a carton) & lemon zest from one lemon, the 6 (quartered) cherry tomatoes and the pinch of ground pepper.

8. Just before the peppers have finished roasting, add the 85g of flaked salmon to the couscous mixture.

9. Using tongs, carefully tip any cooking juices out of the roasted pepper halves, then fill them with the couscous/veg/salmon mixture.

10. Sprinkle the stuffed peppers with 2 handfuls of grated cheese and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, until the cheese melts and browns slightly. Keep an eye on the peppers at this stage to ensure they don't burn!

11. Garnish with Parsley and serve with green salad leaves.

Adapted from Dean Edward's 'Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers' Philly recipe, but without the Philadelphia cream cheese.

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