Stuffed Peppers

Name: Stuffed Peppers
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 3 large peppers; red; orange; and yellow preferred; 2-3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 chopped onion; 3 garlic cloves crushed; ⅓ cup pine nuts; 1 ½ cups cooked brown rice; 2 tablespoons parsley; ½ teaspoon coriander seeds toasted and crushed; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds toasted and crushed; 1 pound lamb or beef or ½ pound of each; 4 tablespoons tomato paste or red pepper paste (I get the spicy variety from a local Middle Eastern grocery); Salt and fresh ground black pepper

Published on July 10, 2018 | By surleplat |

1 Comments

“Dolmas” or the family of stuffed vegetable dishes has a long and ancient history. Stuffed vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, and onions all have a place in the Mediterranean kitchen and are commonly found with a variety of stuffing in Greece, Italy, and Turkey.

Some are served hot and some are cold. Many times a yogurt based sauce accompanies these stuffed vegetables.

I have fond memories of my mom’s stuffed bell peppers which were always on my list of favorites for my birthday dinner. Fried chicken, red beans and rice and stuffed peppers. Interesting combination but always made the top of my list.

My mom’s recipe for peppers was simple; ground meat, onions, garlic, celery and rice. In fact, whenever I have leftover rice, my mind immediately thinks, “stuffed peppers!”

My travels to Mediterranean countries especially Greece and Turkey, and Paula Wolfert’s “Mediterranean Cooking” have highly influenced the evolution of my stuffed peppers which borrow flavors from all of these countries.

- Prep Time
- 25 Minutes
- Cook Time
- 45 Minutes
- Yield
- 6

Ingredients

3 large peppers, red, orange, and yellow preferred
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 chopped onion
3 garlic cloves crushed
⅓ cup pine nuts
1 ½ cups cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons parsley
½ teaspoon coriander seeds toasted and crushed
1 teaspoon cumin seeds toasted and crushed
1 pound lamb or beef or ½ pound of each
4 tablespoons tomato paste or red pepper paste (I get the spicy variety from a local Middle Eastern grocery)
Salt and fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

Cut peppers in half. Keep the stems intact. Remove seeds. Place peppers in a glass baking dish. Sauté ground beef or lamb until cooked through, remove from skillet. Pour off all liquids from the skillet.
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to heavy deep skillet (I use cast iron) and over medium heat, sauté onion slowly until soft, then add garlic and toasted and crushed coriander and cumin. Return browned beef to the skillet, combine with vegetables and herbs, then add 1- 1 ½ cups cooked rice to taste. I use short grain brown rice.
Stir in tomato or red pepper paste and salt and pepper. If the mixture feels a little thick and dry, add a little water to loosen it up.
Using a spoon, mound meat filling into each pepper half. When all peppers have been filled, add hot water to the baking dish to about the hallway mark for the peppers.
Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes until the peppers are tender and the filling is hot.