Greek food is my all-time favorite cuisine. It’s fresh, light and flavorful. I’m always trying to come up with a twist to traditional recipes. I love when it works out, like in this instance! Spiced rice and chickpeas make this recipe go ‘round! This is simple recipe but takes a while to make but only because of the bake time. The prep is easy. The best part is while the peppers are in the oven you can sit back read a book, watch an episode (or some of it) or have a phone conversation. Let the oven do most of the work! This recipe pairs so well with my Cool Cucumber-Mint Salad or Cucumber Lime-Dill Salad.

***Bonus recipe at the bottom that can be placed on top of these pepper when they’re done!***

Stuffed Pepper Ingredients

3 medium peppers (any color)

2 cups rice, cooked

½ tbsp olive oil (or 2 tbsp veggie broth)

1 tbsp dry oregano

2 tbsp freshdill

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ medium onion, diced

4 oz artichoke, chopped (small jar or ½ can)

½ tsp sea salt, or to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice the peppers in half, removing the stem and seeds. In a medium pan, over medium heat, add the oil onions and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes, until golden, then add dill and oregano. Next add the artichoke. Let this cook, uncovered, for 3-5 minutes. Now, remove from heat. Stuff the peppers with the rice mixture. Cover and place in the oven for 25. After 25 minutes, uncover and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the peppers are as tender as you like them. At this point, begin making the Cumin Spiced Chickpeas…

Cumin Spiced Chickpeas Ingredients

1 can chickpeas/garbonzos

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp cumin

2 tsp dill

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 pinch salt

Cumin Spiced Chickpeas Instructions

In a small pan on low-medium heat, add the oil and beans. Toss for a moment then add all of the spices to the beans. Saute often until golden brown. Once they are nice and toasty, set aside until the peppers are full cooked- which should be very soon!

******BONUS RECIPE: Tzatziki Sauce******

Tzatziki sauce is a cool, creamy Greek sauce. Traditionally, it is made with yogurt. Personally, I do not like yogurt (vegetarian or vegan versions) so I used sour cream. If you like yogurt use plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Give it a try! No blender required!

Tzatziki Ingredients

8 oz Sour cream (or plain yogurt)

½ medium cucumber, diced small (the way you’d dice an onion)

1 pinch salt & pepper, or to taste

1 tbsp dill, dried or fresh

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp lemon juice, optional

Tzatziki Instructions

In a bowl, combine sour cream (or yogurt), cucumber, lemon juice (if using), salt, pepper, dill and garlic. Cover and refrigerate until ready to plop a dollop of Tzatziki on your pepper!