Stuffed Peppers with Minced Beef

Just because I live alone, work hard and I’m unable to cook all the time, I can easily forget what I was cooking and which ingredients I was adding. That’s why I’m writing all of them to this blog so that I can look back over and over again. Today I treated myself with stuffed peppers with minced beef – a traditional Turkish food. So Mediterranean, so healthy and so tasty. I added some extra ingredients to it that I think they will be the perfect touch. As I said, just because I can’t cook all the time, I would like to consume the ingredients that I already have without them spoiling.

I prefer small green peppers with thin skin. Unfortunately, there is no chance to find them on local supermarkets. I always purchase them on markets that sells Turkish products.

INGREDIENTS:

• 100 gr minced beef
• 80gr short grain rinsed rice (all the dust needs to be removed)
• 1 tsp red pepper paste
• Salt, pepper and other desired spices
• Fresh parsley (original recipe has that but I don’t like to use fresh herbs on this meal. Rather I add dried basil and mint)
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Lemon juice
• Half Onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• Green Peppers – (I used 7 of them)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cup hot water

METHOD:

1. Mix minced beef, rice, pepper paste, salt, pepper, other desired spices, herbs, tomato, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, onion and garlic in a large bowl.
2. Wash your peppers and remove the stems by pressing your thumb gently down on the base of the stem. Clean out any seeds and white membranes from the insides of the peppers.
3. With a dessert spoon, fill each pepper with the mixture until it reaches the top. Don’t pack the filling down or overfill your peppers. The rice will need enough room to expand while it cooks.
4. Arrange the filled peppers side-by-side in the bottom of a saucepan. Make sure there is no empty space left between the peppers; if there is, arrange the peppers in a smaller pan so they support each other and stand upright.
5. Melt the tomato paste in a hot water and add it to the pan. (I drizzle olive oil in it)
6. Bring the pan to a gentle boil, then immediately reduce the heat to low. Let the peppers simmer gently with the cover on until most of the water is absorbed. I cooke somewhere around 30 min.

You can decorate the tops either with stems or slice of tomatoes. If you don’t like peppers or can’t find them you can use aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes or potatoes. And if you are a vegetarian simply don’t add the mince beef.