Couscous-Stuffed Peppers with homemade vegetable stock

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Meatball mix

1. 1
   Put the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, garlic, bay leaves and thyme in a large pot with the cold water.

   Large pot

   💡Start with cold water: the vegetables release their flavor slowly as the water heats up.
2. 2
   Bring to a boil over high heat and skim off the foam.

   Stove
3. 3
   Turn down to medium-low heat and simmer uncovered 30–45 minutes.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
4. 4
   Strain the stock through a fine sieve.

   Fine sieve
5. 5
   Put the couscous in a bowl, pour the stock over it and cover for 5 minutes. Fluff the grains with a fork.

   BowlFork
6. 6
   Mix the couscous, carrot, onion, garlic, cilantro, cumin, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and black pepper until evenly combined.

To assemble

1. 7
   Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 8
   Halve the peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds and white ribs.

   KnifeCutting board
3. 9
   Fill the peppers with the mixture.
4. 10
   Arrange the peppers, now stuffed, in a deep baking dish.

   Baking pan
5. 11
   Bake 20 minutes.

   OvenBaking pan
6. 12
   Serve hot as a main course.