Quinoa and Chickpea Stuffed Peppers with Merquén

Ingredients

• large peppers (capsicum) — 4
• quinoa — 120 g
• water — 3 cups (for the quinoa)
• chickpeas — 2 cups (soaked in water overnight)
• onion — 1 (medium, chopped)
• garlic cloves — 2 (chopped)
• mushrooms — 1 1/2 cups (sliced)
• tomatoes — 2 (seeded and diced)
• carrot — 1 (large, grated)
• merquén (smoked chilli) — 1 tbsp (or to taste)
• salt — 1/4 tsp (or to taste)
• olive oil (enough to fry)
• vegetarian cheese — 240 g (grated; the source says 'grated cheese' (see adapted))
• fresh coriander leaves — 1 cup (chopped; 2 tbsp go into the filling, the rest is for garnish)
• basil — 1/2 cup (chopped)

Method

1. Heat the oven to a high temperature.
2. Put the quinoa in a pan with the 3 cups of water. When it boils, turn the heat down and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the grains are tender.
3. At the same time, cook the soaked chickpeas in a separate pot for 30 minutes, and mash them once they are soft.
4. Halve the peppers lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Lay them cut side down on a baking tray and give them about 10 minutes in the oven, until the skins start to soften.
5. Chop the onion and garlic and grate the carrot. Fry them gently in olive oil over medium heat, then stir in the mushrooms, merquén, salt and 2 tbsp of the coriander and cook for 5 minutes more.
6. Take the seeds out of the tomatoes and dice them. Combine the quinoa, mashed chickpeas, basil and tomato with the fried vegetables, mixing until even.
7. Fill the pepper halves, cover with the grated cheese and bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese browns.
8. Let them stand for 5 minutes, then serve hot with the rest of the coriander on top.