Bakoula-stuffed Romano peppers with yogurt & hazelnuts
Serves 4
I love bakoula, a Moroccan salad traditionally made with mallow (a leaf vegetable) – it can be difficult to find so Swiss chard makes a great alternative.
4 Romano peppers 50g blanched hazelnuts 50g Greek yogurt 2tbsp lemon juice Bakoula salad 4tbsp olive oil 800g Swiss chard, stalks removed and leaves cut into 3cm wide strips 3tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
3tbsp finely chopped coriander 3tbsp lemon juice 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1½tsp paprika ¾tsp ground cumin ½tsp salt, or more to taste
Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Start with roasting the Romano peppers. Use a knife to make a vertical incision 5cm in length from the stem area towards the end of each pepper, making sure that you don’t cut right to the ends. You will use this incision to scoop out the seeds once the peppers are cooked. Lay the peppers in a roasting tin and roast for about 25 minutes or until their skins look wrinkly and their flesh is soft. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Meanwhile, heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat and dry fry the hazelnuts for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and toasted. Leave to cool for a few minutes, then use a food processor or pestle and mortar to coarsely grind the nuts. Set aside until ready to serve.
To make the bakoula salad, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the Swiss chard and stir in the remaining ingredients, cover the pan and cook for about 8 minutes until the chard is soft. Uncover the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside until needed.
Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, use a spoon to carefully extract and discard the seeds, making sure that you don’t damage the flesh.
Mix the yogurt and lemon juice together in a small bowl. Divide the bakoula salad between the peppers.
To serve, drizzle the yogurt sauce on to the peppers and scatter with the hazelnuts.