Recipe Black bean & avocado stuffed peppers with avocado ‘crema’

[Morning Glory]

Avocado and earthy black beans are a classic combination. Add some Mexican herbs and the mixture comes to life. The interloper here is ground black cardamon which isn’t Mexican at all, but adds a savoury, smoky, spiciness and curiously perhaps, seems to add to the buttery taste of avocados. Its a combination I want to explore further. I par-cooked the halved peppers in the microwave to cut down on oven time. In fact, the whole dish could be microwaved and I’m not sure why I didn’t do that. Microwaving peppers retains their colour much better than oven cooking.

Ingredients (serves 2)
For the stuffed peppers:
4 bell peppers (any colour)
80g cooked sweet potato (approximately one small sweet potato).
1 medium avocado
1 x 400g tin of black beans (well drained)
1 tbsp garlic powder or granules
1 tsp ground black cardamon
1 tsp dried epazote
1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
1 handful of chopped coriander (cilantro)
1 medium red chilli, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 to 2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs (use gluten free if preferred)
Salt to taste (I used 1 tsp)

For the avocado ‘crema’
1 medium avocado
5 tbsp Greek style yoghurt
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste
N.B.this makes more ‘crema’ than you need but any left over is great as a salad dressing in place of mayonnaise or to accompany other dishes.

To serve:
Chopped coriander, parsley or mint leaves
Crumbled feta cheese

Method
For the stuffed peppers:

1. Halve the peppers from stalk to base, de-seed and place in a microwaveable dish with a little water in the bottom. Cover and cook on high for 5 to 8 minutes until almost tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat the oven to 175C (if using the oven)
3. Chop the cooked sweet potato into small chunks. Place in a mixing bowl.
4. Halve and peel the avocado, cut into small chunks and add to the sweet potato.
5. Add the drained black beans and, the herbs, spices and chopped chilli.
6. Add the lime juice and mix everything together. Roughly mash the mixture with a fork to break down the beans slightly. You want to retain texture.
7. Add the breadcrumbs. If the mixture seems too wet add more breadcrumbs. Add salt to taste. Pile the mixture into the pepper halves.
8. Place pepper halves in a baking dish and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. (or in the microwave for 8 minutes)

For the avocado ‘crema’:

1. Halve, peel and roughly chop the avocado.
2. Place avocado, yoghurt and lemon juice in a jug.
3. Use a stick blender to blend to a smooth consistency.
4. Add salt to taste

To serve:

1. Scatter fresh herb leaves and crumbled feta over the peppers and drizzle with a little of the ‘crema’.
2. Place the remaining ‘crema' in a bowl to serve alongside.