Stuffed Bell Peppers (Biber Dolması)
Ingredients
- Approx. 4/6 Green Bell Peppers
- (also see variations below)
- ½ medium onion, finely chopped
- couple of knobs of butter
- 2 heaped dstsp. rice
- 4 tbsp. water
- 150 gr. (5 oz.) minced beef/lamb
- 1 tsp. tomato purée
- 2 large tomatoes, skinned and chopped
- 2-3 tbsp. freshly chopped herbs, parsley, mint and dill (dill, optional). If you don’t have fresh mint, use a good sprinkling of dried mint).
- 1 tsp. paprika
- Salt/pepper
- For the cooking: Approx. 150 ml (¼ pt.) vegetable stock and 2 beefy tomatoes, whizzed in blender
- *The photo shows a larger serving using courgettes, Turkish peppers and beef tomatoes
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C.
First prepare the bell peppers. Slice in half down the middle and clean out the seeds
If you can find the thin Turkish type peppers, the top around the stalk can be cut off and they can then be deseeded and are ready to stuff whole.
Fry onions in butter gently until softened, not browned. Stir in the rice and add the water. When nearly all the water has been absorbed, take off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well to a soft consistency. You don’t want the mixture to be too stiff, but quite loose, so adjust the amount of chopped tomatoes you add accordingly.
Stuff your prepared peppers and place in a wide-bottomed casserole pan, in one layer.
Now gently pour over the stock, to come halfway up the peppers. Adjust the amount of stock accordingly and pour over the whizzed tomatoes. Give a general seasoning of salt and pepper, dot with butter and put on the lid.
Simmer gently until the meat is cooked and the rice is nicely swollen. Approx. 30-40 minutes. Keep an eye on the liquid as it is cooking. Serve with yoghurt and crusty bread.
Variations:
Replace the bell peppers in the recipe with any of the following or use some of each:
4/6 Courgettes
If the courgettes are thin, cut in half, then slice each half lengthways, so they are boat-shaped and hollow out a ridge to hold the stuffing, being careful not to pierce the bottom.
Alternatively, if the courgettes are larger and thicker, cut in half or into three and hollow out each to hold the stuffing, being careful not to pierce the bottom. The courgettes can be placed on top of one another in the pan, if necessary.
4/6 Beefy Tomatoes
Make an incision about 5 mm (¼") from the edge of the top of the tomato and gently cut out a lid. Scoop out the flesh and add this to the stuffing mixture.