Lentil Stuffed Romano Peppers with Vegan Cheese Sauce
We’ve had stuffed peppers before but this is a new recipe that we really enjoyed. It’s also easy to make.
Serving Size: 2
Ingredients:
- 2 pointed romano peppers
- 1/2 cup lentils
- 2 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder
- 5 baby plum tomatoes, halved
- small bunch chives, chopped
- 1 teaspoon red pepper paste or tomato paste
- 2-3 tablespoons vegan cheese sauce (recipe below)
- optional basil as garnish
for the Vegan Cheese Sauce, which makes about 1 to 1.5 cups:
- 3/4 cup non dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 cup cashew butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon light miso
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast.
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 cup coconut oil, melted
- pinch cayenne or splash Tabasco
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
Directions:
- Cook the lentils al dente in a small saucepan with the water, vegetable bouillon powder and bay leaves. You want the lentils to be somewhat soft, but not mushy.
- While the lentils are cooking make the cheese sauce.
- When the lentils are cooked, remove from the heat and drain off any excess liquid.
- Add the teaspoon of pepper pate (or optionally tomato paste), and mix with the cooked lentils.
- Add 1/2 the chopped chives and mix.
- Slice the peppers in halves but keep the stem on.
- Remove the seeds and inner veins.
- Lay the peppers on a cookie sheet that has parchment baking paper.
- Fill the peppers with the lentil mixture.
- Add the tomato pieces and a couple of dollops of the cheese sauce.
- Place in a preheated oven 392 F / 200 C.
- Bake about 20 minutes or until the pepper has become soft.
- Serve the peppers optionally garnished with fresh basil or more chopped chives and some of the cheese sauce on the side.
To make the cheese sauce:
- Place the non dairy milk in a small saucepan.
- Add the cashew butter and mix well. I used a whisk, a fork or spoon are fine as well.
- When you have a smooth even mixture, add the cornstarch and again, mix well.
- Then add the rest of the ingredients and stir to mix.
- Bring up the heat and bring to a soft boil, stirring constantly to keep from scalding.
- When the cheese has become a thick mass, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Notes:
There are any nice vegan cheese sauces available now. I wanted a white one this time and found a very good one at idealforeating.com, which I adapted for this recipe.