A delicious summer supper!

limey

Originally uploaded by pincushion crumbs

Tonight, I had a bunch of vegetables from the farmer’s market that really desperately needed to be used (or risk losing their lovely freshness). And so, I set out to make something tasty and containing cilantro, baby yellow squash, and baby bell peppers.

I ended up with: curried lentil-stuffed peppers with crunchy panko topping with black rice noodles and star-shaped zucchini coconut sautee.

A lot of words there! I need to get better about naming my recipes, I think.

It really didn’t take much time to make, and it plated really nicely. Were I making it again, I’d use regular squash (so I could use the flower cutters more easily, they barely fit on even the larger parts of the baby squash) and I’d add some cashews and maybe even currants to the pepper filling. Quick tip: when I baked the peppers, as I’m sure you are all aware, it’s hard to get them to sit flat in the pan. I used the ends of my baby squash to prop up whatever side wanted to fall over, and it worked like a charm. Try it if you want! Serves 2.

To make my wordy recipe, you’ll need:

For the peppers:

4 baby bell peppers
1 can lentils (I know, I know, canned, but it was there and easy. That’s what SHE said.)
1 can light coconut milk
curry paste or powder to taste (I used about 3 or 4 tbsp of the paste, I’d guess, and I used a musamun paste from the asia market)
Bragg’s amino acids or soy sauce (probably about a tbsp, though use as much as you want)
Japanese breadcrumbs/panko and fried garlic (I have a jar of it from the asia market) mixed in roughly a 3-1 ratio
Cutout squash skin for garnish

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Combine lentils, about 1/2 can coconut milk, curry paste, and Braggs/soy sauce in a pot on the stove; bring to a boil and reduce until thick. You don’t want it running all over your oven.
Halve and clean out baby bell peppers; when mixture is thick enough, spoon into pepper halves.
Top with panko & garlic mixture, and place squash in the center. Bake at 350˚F for about 10-11 minutes in a greased pan. Small is better, so they don’t slide around as much.

For the squash/noodles:

3-4 baby yellow squash or 2 regular-sized, sliced and then cut into cute flower shapes
1 small red onion, diced
olive oil
scant 1/4c coconut milk
Bragg’s amino acids or soy sauce
Black rice noodles for two. Mine come in little bundles, of which I cooked two. Handy, eh? I found these at the asia market, too.

Put noodles and cold water and a pinch of salt in a pot and bring to a boil. You can start this right after you spoon your lentils into your peppers; I used the same pot, rinsed. Mine only needed to go for about four or five minutes once they boiled, so don’t overdo these. When they’re done, rinse in cold water in a sieve or colander (sieve for me, as they’re very skinny little noodles) and set aside.
While you’re simmering your lentils, dice onion and slice and cut flowers from squash.
Heat olive oil in a pan and add red onion; sauté until soft and translucent. Add flower-shaped squash. Sauté briefly to coat in olive oil, and add the coconut milk and Braggs/soy sauce. Simmer on med. or med-low heat until the rest of the dinner is done, stirring occasionally.

Serve noodles with squash on top; arrange peppers on plate, and garnish with a lime wedge and fresh cilantro. The lime is fantastic squeezed over the whole shebang. Yes, I am from Texas. For more photos check my Flickr photostream!