Despite not using a recipe and knowing next to nothing about Turkish cuisine, I thought these came out pretty well. I was worried that the rice was going to be undercooked, but aside from some al dente pieces here and there, that wasn't a problem. The spices and everything really work well, though I think I'll add more cumin and parsley next time around.
The fragility of the peppers is an issue I wasn't really prepared for. Using tongs to get the peppers out of the pot caused a few of them to implode, which meant that a lot of the stuffing fell into the water. A more careful approach (spoons and patience) is probably necessary.
Since it is almost summer, I've been thinking about how to make these on the grill. I'm thinking that pre-cooking the filling (the night before maybe) then roasting some peppers on the BBQ would work well. It would certainly do more to preserve the spice flavor than boiling everything. I saw a stuffed pepper recipe online that features grilled sausages, so I might get distracted and just make that.
Recipe behind the jump.
Vaguely Turkish Stuffed Peppers
4 Bell Peppers
1/2 Cup Rice
2 Tomatoes
1/2 lb Ground Meat (Turkey)
1 Red Onion
2 teaspoons Paprika
1 teaspoon Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/3 bunch Parsley
Mint and Dry Oregano to Taste
Methods
1. Carefully cut tops off peppers and clean out the guts. Poke holes in the bottom of each pepper using a fork (or if you're cool, a giant chef's knife).
2. Dice one of the tomatoes, slice the other. Dice onion and parsley. Combine diced tomato, parsley, onion, (uncooked) rice, meat, and spices in a big bowl. Mix it all together until everything is evenly distributed.
3. Using your hands, fill the peppers with the rice/meat/spices mixture. Leave about a half inch at the top of each pepper to allow for expansion. Place tomato slices over each pepper.
4. Place peppers in a large pot (top side up). Pour enough water into the pot so that about 1/2 the pepper is submerged. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 45 minutes to one hour. The pepper will be extremely fragile when cooking is complete.
No comments:
Post a Comment