This recipe was definitely a joint effort between my mom and I. So much taste testing to get the flavors we envisioned all with minimal debate. The best part was that we created a hearty Italian style dish that would have made my Italian hubby proud and it got dad’s seal of approval.

When I went out to have a raw meal earlier this week and was served stuffed mushrooms that were warm I spoke with the chef who explained how she did it. I came home and read up and started to play around with ideas. My mom makes amazing tomato sauce from scratch so I began picking her brain on the seasonings to add. Tasting as we went along we created a delicious flavor profile.

I was happy to learn that dad didn’t find it too toxic to have a glass of wine with our Italian meal.

Notes:

We did use a dehydrator, though I feel like you could do them with out warming them. I think the stuffing would also work great in tomatoes.

The recipe is easy though it takes quite awhile so plan ahead.

Bell Pepper Ingredients:

1 lb baby mini bell peppers
1 cup raw pecans soaked for two hours and rinsed
1/2 cup sunflower seeds soaked for two hours and rinsed
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 cloves garlic
5 button mushrooms
1 small celery stalk
1 tbsp chopped onion
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 dried basil
1/4 tsp dried fennel
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried sage
a pinch of cayenne pepper

Cut bell peppers in half, thirds or fourths depending on size so that they will fit in your dehydrator.  Remove the seeds. Set aside.

Put all remaining ingredients in food processor and blend until it is a pate. Scrap sides well so there are no whole nuts or seeds left. Fill each pepper and place on dehydrator sheets.

Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 4 hours. Place peppers on plate, cover with tomato sauce (recipe below) and serve. We served the peppers on a bed of  chopped basil and spinach.

Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Sauce:
1/3 cup cashews soaked for 8 hours
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (not in oil) soaked for 2 hours
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 small Roma tomato

Rinse cashews and put in blender. Pour sun dried tomatoes with the soaking water over cashews. Add water if needed to cover top of cashews. Blend on high for a couple of minutes until creamy. Add remaining ingredients and blend for another minute. Serve.

Learn more about my Vegan MOFO theme: Dad Says It’s Toxic

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