Air fryer veggie stuffed peppers recipe
Fancy a meat-free meal, or have a veggie friend coming round for dinner? This simple Middle Eastern-style recipe could be just what you need.
Inspired by muhammara, a roasted red pepper dip popular in the Levant region, these tangy stuffed peppers are full of warming spices, chopped walnuts and tomatoey rice – making them the perfect choice for a healthy dinner that's big on flavour. Even better, they require very little prep work, and you can cook them in everyone's new favourite kitchen gadget: the air fryer.
The recipe features in Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Air Fryer Cookbook by social media sensation Poppy O'Toole. Poppy says that there are plenty of ways to make this recipe your own. For a touch of creaminess, crumble in some feta or add a spoonful of labneh (Middle Eastern strained yogurt) to the stuffing. For extra zing, you could whip up an easy dressing by combining a crushed garlic clove with lemon juice and yogurt. Alternatively, mix things up by experimenting with different soft herbs; coriander (cilantro), chervil, chives and dill would also make tasty additions.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 knob of butter
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 200 g basmati rice, rinsed until the water runs clear
- 1 tsp ground allspice, to taste
- 2 tsp Aleppo pepper, to taste, plus extra to garnish
- 2 tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped
- 30 g flat-leaf parsley, leaves and stems roughly chopped
- 4 Romano peppers (or red peppers)
- 40 g walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
- 1 pinch sea salt flakes and ground black pepper
Details
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern-inspired
- Recipe Type: Air fryer
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 10 mins
- Cooking Time: 45 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Warm 2 tbsp olive oil and the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the cumin seeds and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the onion and cook on a medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the onion is translucent and lightly golden.
- While the onion is cooking, tip the rice into a saucepan of salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for 4 minutes, then drain and refresh in cold water.
- Once the onion is cooked, remove the pan from the heat. Add the par-boiled rice, along with the allspice, Aleppo pepper, chopped tomatoes and half the parsley. Season generously and mix well.
- Heat the air fryer to 180°C/350°F.
- Make a slit down the length of one of the peppers, starting at the top and stopping about 2cm/¾ in from the bottom, so that you have a pouch. Carefully remove the seeds and pith and rub with a little of the remaining olive oil. Fill the pepper with a quarter of the rice mixture, then gently push the edges together. Repeat with the remaining peppers and rice mixture.
- Place the peppers in the air fryer basket, leaving space between each one. Cook for 20-30 minutes, until tender and just beginning to char.
- Sprinkle the peppers with the toasted walnuts, the remaining parsley and a big pinch of Aleppo pepper. Serve individually or on a big sharing platter.
Recipe adapted from Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Air Fryer Cookbook by Poppy O’Toole (Bloomsbury, £20 Hardback). Photography © Haarala Hamilton.
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