Pearl Barley and Beluga Lentil Stuffed Peppers

with Pomegranate Drizzle

The bold colors in this recipe make for a beautiful presentation. When choosing peppers for stuffing, look for ones with straight sides that stand up nicely—it doesn’t matter if they have three bumps or four on the bottom, so long as they’re level. It would be sad to find that after baking, one or more of your peppers won’t stand on the plate. This week, I’m serving these as part of my menu for Parasha Emor.

While pearled barley isn’t quite as nutritious as hulled barley, the texture of the pearled barley works best in this recipe because it helps the stuffing to hold together. It’s kind of like the difference between brown and white rice. You can find pearled barley in most grocery stores, or here.

I get very passionate about beluga lentils—yeah, I know…that’s a lot of excitement over a bean. What’s so special about them? Black Beluga lentils hold their shape when cooked, unlike brown or red lentils. They’re gorgeous and tender with a bit of bite to them. And, they cook up as quickly as a pot of rice. There aren’t a lot of beans that can make that claim. Combined with the barley they offer plenty of protein, and the vegetables in the stuffing add to its nutritional value, as well as to the flavor of these stuffed peppers.

I like to briefly steam my peppers before stuffing them. It ensures that they’ll come out soft and tender. The yogurt tahini sauce isn’t absolutely necessary, but it’s nice. Serve it on the side, allowing diners to spoon it onto their peppers as they’d like.

6 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pearl barley

• 1 cup beluga lentils

• 5-6 cups roasted vegetable stock, divided

• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds

• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds

• 2 teaspoons nigella seeds

• olive oil for sautéing

• 2 large yellow onions, diced small (divided use)

• 5-8 ounces white or brown mushrooms, stems trimmed, and cut just a little bigger than the diced vegetables.

• 1 stalk celery, diced small

• 2 large carrots, peeled and diced small

• 2 parsnips, peeled and diced small

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (divided use)

• 1/2 cup full bodied red wine

• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground sumac

• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

• 1 cup pine nuts

• 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

• 6 large red, yellow, and/or orange bell peppers, with stems

• 2 cups San Marzano tomato puree or chopped tomatoes with their juice

Directions:

• Prepare the peppers: Carefully cut the tops off the peppers. The tops will be used as little hats for your peppers. Using a paring knife, remove the seeds with the pith and ribs. Be carful not to cut through. Place the peppers in a steamer basket and steam them in a pot on the stove over rapidly boiling water for 4-5 minutes, until the peppers are tender but still hold their shape. If you haven’t got a steamer basket, you can boil them directly in the water. Once steamed, remove them from the pot and set them aside to cool.

• Preheat the oven to 375°

• In a medium saucepan, warm a small glug of olive oil and sauté one chopped onion until it’s translucent and soft. Add the barley and 1 clove of minced garlic and cook, stirring, for a minute or two. Add vegetable stock to the pot (follow the directions on the package for barley/water ratio) and bring it to a boil. Then cover the pot, reduce the heat, and follow the directions for cooking time.

• In another pot, bring 3 cups of low salt vegetable stock to a boil. Add the black lentils, lower the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, until tender but firm.

• Generously grease a 4-quart baking dish with oil and set it aside.

• Heat a cast-iron skillet or other heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. Add the coriander, cumin, and nigella seeds and toast, stirring, for 30 to 45 seconds, or until very fragrant. Transfer the seeds to a spice grinder or immaculately clean coffee grinder and grind the toasted seeds finely. Set aside.

• Return the pan to the heat, add the pine nuts and toast, stirring until they become light golden, about 1 minute. Transfer to a small dish and set aside.

• Place the same pan back over high heat and add a glug of olive oil, heating until it shimmers. Add the remaining onion with a little sprinkle of salt, and cook, stirring, until translucent.

• Add the mushrooms with a sprinkle of salt and cook, stirring, for a few more minutes, until they’re just about to develop color. 

• Add the celery, carrots, and parsnips, and continue to cook until they’re soft, about 3–4 minutes. Then add the garlic and thyme leaves, and cook until just fragrant, about 1 minute.

• Deglaze the pan with the wine and cook until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Add the raisins, ground spices, sumac, pine nuts, and toasted sesame seeds, and stir to combine.

• Add the cooked barley and lentils to the pan and stir until the mixture is well combined. If the mixture appears too dry, add a bit more oil, or stock, or both. Set aside to cool slightly.

• Add the tomato puree to the bottom of the casserole dish.

• Stuff the peppers with the stuffing mixture, gently compacting it into the peppers until they’re filled and just slightly mounded on the top.

• Rub the outer surface of the peppers with a little oil, then place the stuffed peppers into the prepared baking dish, standing up. Rub the outer skins of the tops of the peppers and place them in the dish alongside the stuffed peppers. You can use the tops to help prop up the peppers if you have trouble getting them to stand up.

• Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then, uncover the casserole dish and generously drizzle the pomegranate molasses over the peppers. Bake for another 30 to 40 minutes, or until the peppers are very tender. If the bottom of the dish seems to be getting too dry, gently stir in a little more stock. You’ll want to have enough tomato sauce to dress the plates.

• Spoon a small pool of the sauce onto each plate and set a pepper upright in the sauce. Then place a jaunty little cap on each one.

• Serve as is, or with yogurt tahini sauce.

• The peppers can be made up to one day in advance and reheated. If that’s your plan, only bake them for the first 30 minutes and finish them off in the oven when you’re ready to serve them.

  Yogurt Tahini Sauce

• 1 cup full-fat Greek Yogurt

• 3 tablespoons sesame tahini

• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 2 cloves of minced garlic

• ½ teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

  Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. You could also do this in a food processor. Taste for salt and lemon, and adjust as you’d like.