Spiced Mung Bean and Wild Rice Stuffed Peppers with Garlic Cashew Cream
If you’ve never tried mung beans before, this recipe is a fabulous way to introduce yourself to this super healthy food! Although it looks like a long recipe, it's actually pretty easy to prepare and then you just leave it in the oven to cook. It's well worth trying as the spices in this recipe combine beautifully together in this dish and the cashew cream takes it to a sensational new level!
Soak the mung beans for 30 minutes in cold water then drain. You will also need to soak the cashews for 30 minutes in boiling water then drain.
50 g dried mung beans, 60 g cashews
Cook the wild rice according to the instructions on the packet (wild rice can vary significantly so best to follow the packet instructions – but as a general guide, it is usually cooked in about 3 times as much water for about 45 minutes).
40 g wild rice
Add the mung beans to the rice pan and top up with more water, to cook for the final half hour of the rice cooking time. (so, if the rice cooks in 45 minutes, cook the rice for 15 minutes first, then add the mung beans and more water and cook both together for a further 30 minutes)
50 g dried mung beans
Meanwhile… Set the oven to 180°C.In a large frying pan, dry fry the spices (with no oil) on a medium heat for 30 seconds until fragrant. Set aside to use later.
½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
In the same pan, heat the oil and sauté the onion and celery over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or so, until browned. Then add the garlic and fry, stirring, for 1 minute until fragrant.
Add the grated courgette and stir well, then add the spices and salt and stir again to ensure everything is well mixed. Sauté for another minute then add the diced tomatoes. Stir over the heat for another minute then add the stock.
50 g courgette (zucchini), ¼ teaspoon salt, 2 tomatoes, 120 ml vegetable stock
Drain the mung beans and wild rice and add to the vegetables (*Note, if your wild rice and mung beans aren’t ready yet, just pop the lid on the onion pan and turn the heat to low and it will wait there happily). Season with salt and pepper, stir well and simmer gently for a few minutes.
Slice the peppers in half lengthways and pull out the stem and seeds. Then line a baking sheet with baking paper, lay the peppers on the baking sheet (open side facing up) and drizzle with a little oil of your choice. Rub the oil into the pepper halves on both sides then place back on the baking sheet, season with a little sale on the inside of the peppers, and fill the open halves with the mung bean and wild rice mixture.
2 peppers (capsicum), a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of salt
Put the baking tray in the oven and roast for 45 minutes at 180°C.
Meanwhile, make your cashew cream. Drain the cashews from the soaking water and put them in the blender. Add the water, black garlic puree (or garlic clove) and salt and pepper. Blend until smooth and creamy.
60 g cashews, 60 g water, ½ teaspoon black garlic puree, ¼ teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, a pinch of salt and pepper
Serve the stuffed peppers on a bed of rocket lightly dressed with good quality extra virgin olive oil and top with the cashew cream and perhaps a sprinkling of cayenne pepper and a squeeze of lime.
Notes
The mung bean and wild rice mixture can be kept in an airtight container for a few days in the fridge and makes an excellent filling for lettuce wraps.
The cashew cream can be kept in an airtight container for a week in the fridge.