I put this recipe together for a dinner party I was hosting last week. One of my favourite things about cooking for the group is being able to get creative with the items you put on the menu. In this case, I was catering for a vegetarian, a vegan and a whole bunch of carnivores!

The vegan main was so much fun to conjure up. I used quinoa as the hearty base and chopped walnuts to add a bit more texture and ‘meatiness’ to this stuffed pepper dish.

With relatively simple ingredients, this is a great weekend dinner option that can then be easily stored in the fridge and safely re-heated for lunch or dinner throughout the week.

Start with making a basic tomato sauce:

Saute 1/2 onion (chopped) and 1 large garlic clove (minced) in 1 tbsp. of extra virgin love oil until onion is softened.

Add 1 large can ( 796) of crushed tomatoes, dried thyme (1 tsp) and Italian seasoning (1 tsp.), salt and pepper to taste.

Let this simmer gently on the stove top so the flavours infuse.

Later add fresh chopped basil and stir in.

For the peppers:

Wash, cut in half and de-seed 4 (or 5 - depending on size) coloured bell peppers (I leave the stalks on the top because I think it helps the pepper hold it’s shape).

Lightly oil a pan and place the peppers cut-side down. Alternatively you can lightly brush the peppers with extra virgin olive oil.

Roast peppers at 350F for 10-15 minutes, until slightly softened and starting to lightly brown on the outside.

In the meantime, boil water and make quinoa as per the instructions on the box (I used a 225g box of golden and black quinoa, and found I some cooked quinoa left over). This takes some guesstimating of how much you will need based on the number of peppers and their size.

In a separate pan sauté in 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1/2 an onion (chopped), 1 large clove of garlic (minced) and 1 large thinly sliced celery stalk until softened and translucent (about 5 minutes). You could also add in some sliced mushrooms for more variety and to compliment the nutty flavour.

Add 3 heaping table spoons of the basic tomato sauce to your sautéed veggies. Stir in the quinoa, 1 cup at a time, adding a little more sauce if needed. It should be just lightly coated in sauce but not at all soupy.

Add in 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup chopped pitted black olives.

Stir together and add 1 tsp each of Italian seasoning, dried thyme and fresh chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste (and some chilies if you want some spice).

Assembling your peppers:

Use a large ceramic or glass baking dish that will fit all of your peppers relatively tightly - this way they sty up-right and their contents won’t fall out!

Coat the bottom of the dish in a thin layer of the basic tomato sauce.

Place the peppers in, cut side up and stuff peppers with quinoa veg mixture.

Top each pepper with a small spoonful of sauce.

Bake at 350F for 20 minutes, until hot all of the way through.

Top peppers with with fresh chopped basil and/or parsley before serving (and if not vegan, a little grated cheese).

Enjoy :)