Usually, there are two big problems with stuffed peppers: the peppers and the stuffing. Bland, bland, bland.

But there’s a way to make this dish tasty. Rather than use white rice, which tends to lose all texture and taste in recipes like this, I used freekeh. It’s a delicious young “green” wheat from North Africa and the Middle East that’s been fire-roasted to give it a unique smokiness. It also happens to be astonishingly healthy, boasting high levels of protein, fiber and minerals.

For my pepper stuffing, I pair the freekeh with a quartet of summer friends — corn, zucchini, tomato and basil — as well as a little feta cheese. To ensure a tasty filling, the freekeh’s cooking liquid must be carefully seasoned, and veggies must be rid of excess water. (The zucchini are salted and squeezed; the tomatoes are roasted.) The final step: The filling must be seasoned, tasted and adjusted before stuffing the peppers.

Now, about those peppers. Lack of flavor stems from the common practice of boiling the peppers. While the goal is to tenderize them, oftentimes the poor fellas are over-boiled.

Forget boiling. Instead, the trick is to roast them at high heat. I roast them cut sides down, which puts a tasty little sear on the edges and helps some of the water drain. Then I roast them cut side up, which softens them a bit more. It’s still quite al dente at that point, but it’s perfectly tender after being stuffed and baked.

A bonus of this recipe is that you can prep and stuff the peppers a day ahead of time, then finish them in the oven right before the meal.

BAKED STUFFED PEPPERS WITH FREEKEH

1/2 cup cracked freekeh
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1-1/2 cups water
1 medium zucchini (about 1 pound), coarsely shredded, preferably using food processor
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 cup corn kernels (about 1 ear of corn)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
4 red, yellow or orange bell peppers, or a mix
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup shredded basil

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

In small saucepan over medium-high, combine freekeh, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the water. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer, cover tightly and cook 20 minutes. Fluff with fork and let stand, covered, 10 minutes. Drain excess liquid and transfer to bowl.

Meanwhile, in colander, toss zucchini with remaining salt and let drain.

In medium skillet over medium, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Add onion to freekeh. Working with small handfuls, squeeze zucchini to remove excess liquid, then add to freekeh, along with corn and feta.

Cut peppers in half from top to bottom, leaving stem intact if possible. Remove and discard seeds and ribs. Brush rimmed baking sheet with oil and arrange the peppers, cut sides down, on pan. In small bowl toss tomatoes with remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil. Sprinkle with a bit of salt, then arrange in even layer on baking sheet.

Roast peppers and tomatoes on oven’s bottom shelf for 10 minutes, or until cut edges of peppers are browned and tomatoes are softened and blistered in spots. Transfer tomatoes to bowl with freekeh. Turn pepper halves over, season with salt and pepper, then roast until softened slightly, about 5 minutes. Season freekeh mixture with salt and pepper.

Reduce oven to 400 degrees. Mound filling in cavity of each pepper and bake stuffed peppers on oven’s middle shelf until hot, about 10 minutes. Top each with basil. Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional information, per 2 stuffed halves: 360 calories, 7 g saturated fat, no trans fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 840 mg sodium, 41 g carbohydrate, 8 g fiber, 15 g sugar, 13 g protein