Pork & Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers & Marrows

Qarabaghli Mimli, also known as stuffed marrows, a very typical dish on our little island of Malta. These are commonly home-cooked for the family and can be typically found in most traditional Maltese restaurants. 

I like to make these often as they always go down a treat. Recently however, I came across the below recipe which was originally for stuffed peppers. It sounded very similar to Qarabaghli Mimli which I knew I liked, so I decided to give it a go. It turned out delicious!!! 

Since then, I have made these stuffed peppers many a time. However, I have adapted the recipe slightly, adding a few more ingredients and also choosing to stuff marrows. Since my partner is allergic to peppers, I always stuff a couple of marrows as an alternative. Both vegetables work incredibly well with this recipe. 

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Ingredients: 

- 3 coloured peppers, halved, de-seeded and cores removed 

- 1 marrow, halved, core removed

- 1 tbsp olive oil 

- 1 onion, finely chopped

- 1 carrot, grated

- 200 g minced pork 

- 1 garlic clove, crushed 

- 2 tsp ground cumin 

- 1 tsp paprika 

- 50 g red quinoa

- 250ml vegetable stock

- 1 tsp parsley, finely chopped

- salt & pepper to season 

- 4 tbsp Greek yoghurt, to serve 

Method: 

Put the peppers and marrows, cut side down, on a tray and place in a heated oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Leave the oven on. 

In a pan, fry the onions in the oil together with the grated carrots. Add the pork and fry, breaking up any lumps, until it starts to brown. Stir in the garlic and spices for 1 minute, then add the Quinoa and stock. Cover and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes until the quinoa is soft and transparent. 

Stir half the parsley into the mixture and season with salt & pepper. Stuff the mixture into the peppers and marrows on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for 10 - 20 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle over with the remaining parsley, then serve with the yoghurt mixture. 

Note: Most typically, the Maltese traditional recipe would be to use beef mince instead of pork. However, I choose to use pork instead as I am not the biggest fan of red meat, though both work just as well.