Kale & Ricotta Stuffed Peppers with Pesto Butter Beans

Oh my, ricotta stuffed peppers with chilli and kale on a bed of lemony and creamy butter beans.

A beautiful dish that is full of flavour but yet so quick and easy to make.

I love the fact that the dish can be served warm or at room temperature making it the perfect make ahead dish.

Would be so lovely served as part of a mezze table of different dishes or can easily be served as a main with a good sourdough bread and a leafy salad on the side.

It is important to season both the ricotta mixture and the beans well as both will benefit from generous seasoning.

Making your own pesto is super easy and you can use a salsa verde too.

Seasonal Swaps: Cannelini beans would work well as a replacement for butter beans and you can use any leafy greens here instead of Tuscan kale. I used small peppers here but you can use large ones too.

Vegan: use an excellent cashew ricotta instead

Serves 4

• 4 long romano peppers or small normal red peppers, halved, seeds & membranes removed
• 1 red chilli, halved
• 400g Tuscan kale, leaves only (discard stems)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil (more to drizzle)
• 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced or minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 2 x 400g tins butter beans
• 100ml vegetable stock
• 250g ricotta, the firm kind, drained
• 50g (1/2 cup) grated parmesan
• 2 pinches ground nutmeg
• zest & juice of 2 lemons
• 3 tablespoons pesto or salsa verde (opt)
• handful parsley, leaves only, chopped
• salt & pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 200c.
2. Lightly season the peppers and chilli, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 12 minutes.
3. While the peppers are roasting, wash the kale, add to a saucepan and cook, covered on a medium heat,  until the leaves are wilted and soft, about 6 minutes. Tip the wilted leaves into a colander and once cool enough to handle, squeeze out the liquid, add the roasted chilli and chop everything together finely.
4. For the ricotta mixture, mix the ricotta, parmesan, chilli and kale together. Season to perfection with the nutmeg, lemon juice (to taste) and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Taste, taste & taste!
5. Fill the roasted peppers with the ricotta, pressing the filling in the peppers with your fingers. Drizzle with oil and roast for 10 minutes.
6. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, add the garlic, bay leaves and thyme and cook on a low heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the beans and the stock and gently simmer for 10 minutes, making sure not all the liquid evaporates, you want about 1/2 cup left.
7. Lightly mash a few beans with a fork to create a creamy base. Season generously with lemon zest, a few tablespoons of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt & pepper. Add 1/2 the chopped parsley and season to taste. Remove the sprigs of thyme and bay leaves.
8. To serve add the beans to a pretty plate, top with the peppers, nestling them into the bean mixture, top with the remaining parsley, salt & pepper and a final drizzle of oil. JOY!