A tasty vegetarian dish we can play with while choosing which vegetables we wish to stuff ; good reason to visit the farmer’s market for inspiration ; we can also add extra goodies to the mix , maybe crashed chick peas , sweet green peas , cooked lentils or diced firm Tofu … endless ideas 🙂
I would start here with making a flavor rich fresh salsa : either diced finely by hand or pulsed in a food processor it is so easy to crash fresh tomatoes ( i always add some grape tomatoes or sweet heirloom cherry tomatoes ) , red onion , jalopino peppers ( to taste ) , garlic , sweet peppers ( red/yellow/orange or whichever available ) , diced green onions , fresh diced cilantro , fresh basil ; add olive oil , ketchup , chili flakes ( for more heat ? ) chili powder , salt / pepper to taste and a pinch of cumin ; pour into a casserole dish and set aside .
Clean well , scoop insides from vegetables that need to be hollowed , clean seeds etc . ; tougher vegetables such as kohlrabi need to be blanched for a couple of mins. in boiling water ; small eggplants like Italian / white or Fairytales , peppers , patty pan squashes etc.
For barley , an easy way to get cooked is by pouring about 2 cups of barley to 4 1/2 cups of water into a casserole dish , add a dash of salt , cover with foil and cook in the oven for 30-40 mins. at 450 ( make sure it is nicely tender )
While the barley is cooking , add also in the oven some mushrooms ( Portobello , cremini ..oyster …) and some diced sweet potatoes ( or butternut squash ) seasoned with a pinch of s/p and dash of olive oil and roast till tender ; dice the mushrooms once cooled off .
Dice nice ripe peeled / deseeded tomatoes ( colored heirlooms excellent choice ) , zuchini or mini cukes ( seeds out ) , sweet colored peppers , scallions , fresh basil .
To cooked barley add the diced mushrooms , sweet potato and all other chopped vegetables ; season to taste with s/p , vegeta , shredded garlic , fresh diced jalopino if desired and a dash of olive oil . add any other extras as wished for , mix well and stuff the ready vegetables ; get the stuffed goodies on top of the salsa in the casserole dish , cover with foil and bake 40-45 mins. at 400 in the oven
Bon appetit 🙂