Grilled Stuffed Mexican Peppers
An easy, flavorful stuffed pepper option great any night of the week!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Jalapeno, diced
- ½ Medium Sweet Onion, diced
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 can Black Beans, undrained Approx. 15 oz.
- 1 cup Green Lentils
- 1 can Rotel Spiced Tomatoes with Habaneros, undrained Approx. 15 oz.
- 1 can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, undrained Approx. 15 oz.
- ¼ cup Fresh Cilantro, divided in half
- 1 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1 cup Long Grain White Rice
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- ½ cup Cotija Cheese, grated and divided in half Or similar white cheese
- 4 Peppers, seeded and tops removed We used an orange bell and poblanos. Choose the pepper of your liking.
- 1 Avocado, chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Add onions and jalapenos and saute for 2 - 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and saute for another 2 - 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in black beans and cumin. Simmer for 5 minutes, Add in lentils and continue simmering for another 5 minutes.
- In a separate pan prepare rice according to package instructions.
- Add in can of Rotel and Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally until lentils have softened and liquid is reduced.
- Top with half of cotija cheese and half of cilantro.
- Heat grill and cook empty peppers on their sides for 2 - 3 minutes on each side until there are char marks on all sides.
- Layer 1 - 2 tablespoons of rice in the base of each pepper. Fill the peppers to the top with pan mixture (lentil, black bean, tomato mixture). Stand stuffed bell peppers up on grill, top with a tablespoon of cotija cheese. Cook for another 3 - 4 minutes until cheese is melted. Note: If using poblanos you will have to cook on their sides unless you have a device to stand them up.
- In each plate, layer a small bed of rice. Place stuffed pepper on the bed of rice. Top with remaining cotija and cilantro. Spoon in the avocado. Add any additional desired condiments (i.e. sour cream, hot sauce, etc.)
Notes
Peppers: We used orange bell peppers. Any bell pepper will work. We also made some with poblanos. Feel free to experiment with your favorite pepper.
Rotel: We used the spicier Rotel mixture with habaneros. You can sub a milder version if that better suits your taste.
Undrained canned items: Using the entire contents of the can will provide the liquid needed for the lentils. If you find after the simmering process listed in the recipe that you need more or less liquid, adjust accordingly by adding liquid or simmering uncovered to reduce further.