Turkish stuffed peppers
These Turkish Stuffed Peppers are filled with fluffy rice & juicy meaty herb stuffing, then baked in tomato sauce.
Equipment
- 1 frying pan
- 1 cast iron ceramic or enameled deep large dish
Ingredients
For the stuffed peppers:
- 6 Bell peppers
- 1 Large onion finely diced
- 3 tbsp Olive oil
- 100 g Short grain rice
- 50 g Tomato paste or 2 heaped tbsp
- 500 g Mince preferably mix lean beef and lamb
- 1 Egg
- a few handfuls Dill and parsley finely chopped
- 2 spring onions Optional
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
For the sauce:
- 250 ml Passata or canned chopped tomatoes or fresh tomatoes, finely chopped or grated
- 400 ml Hot water
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- Thyme sprigs
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
Sauté the Aromatics:
- In a pan, cook diced onion in olive oil until golden. Add rice, coat well, then stir in tomato paste. Set aside to cool.
Prepare the Filling:
- Combine mince, egg, chopped herbs, spices, and cooled rice mixture in a large bowl. Mix well with your hands or use a spoon.
Prep the Peppers:
- Wash and core bell peppers, reserving tops as lids. Remove all seeds.
Stuff and Bake:
- Fill each pepper cavity with the meat and rice mixture,allowing a little space at the top. In a casserole dish, arrange peppers to fit snugly and add a splash of hot water to each. Add the reserved tops as lids.
Make the Sauce:
- Combine tomato passata, olive oil, hot water, salt, and pepper for the sauce. Pour over the peppers.
Oven Time:
- Bake covered at 220°C for 45 minutes. Remove the lid, check the peppers with a fork or the tip of a knife, they should be tender. Bake for an additional 20-30 minutes until peppers are a little wrinkly and caramelized.
Serve and enjoy!
- Serve in a bowl with ladles of sauce over it and sour cream if you want!
Video
Notes
The casserole dish is important: you want a deep enough dish to hold the sauce and the tall peppers, but keep them tightly packed. You also want a lid on. If you don't have anything like this, you can use a baking dish and make a tent with aluminium foil. But do watch out for the hot sauce, as it will be tricky to handle a dish like this.
Don't overstuff the peppers, leave a little space at the top and drizzle hot hotter, they will expand as they cook.
Place the peppers upright in the baking dish, snuggle them together to stop them from sliding and for even cooking.
The sauce will reduce slightly, you can top it up if needed, just make sure to allow it to simmer well.
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