Meat Stuffed Peppers
An all-in-one dish, with meat, rice and vegetables.
Servings 5 Persons
Calories 147kcal
Ingredients
- 10 green peppers medium
- 300 grams ground meat medium fat beef
- 2 tomatoes large
- 2 dry onions
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 100 grams rice
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 300 millilitres water
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon all spice
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 10 stalks parsley
Instructions
- Take a pepper and put your forefinger on the stem and push it downwards and pull the stem back out to take out the seeds as well as the stem. If you find this difficult or you tend to break apart the pepper; then just cut off the part with the stem as if you are cutting the top of a boiled egg. Take out the seeds, wash inside out and set aside the peppers, holes facing downwards to let the water out.
- Make 1-2 small cuts at the bottom of each pepper with a knife. This will enable water to get inside each pepper to cook the rice while cooking afterwards.
- Peel and then chop or grate the onions. You can also use a food processor for this. Put them in a large mixing bowl. Add also the minced garlic.
- Cut small 10 pieces of tomato to make lids for each pepper. Include the peel and some of the tomato itself. Grate the remaining tomato using a food processor if you like and add to the onions.
- Wash and chop the parsley and add to the onions. Do not use the food processor for the parsley, as it becomes far too small. Besides if you do so, your dolma might turn green. Combine the onions, remaining tomato, parsley in the large mixing bowl.
- Also add the ground meat.
- Wash well the rice, until there is no longer white water flowing under the colander. This is to make sure you get rid of all the starch of the rice. Add the rice to the meat mixture.
- Add the spices; salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and all spice. Adjust the spices according to your taste. Also add two table spoons of tomato paste.
- Mix all either with your hands or a spoon. Make sure everything is well combined.
- Then take each pepper and fill it with this meat mixture. Make sure they are filled up, but do not push in too much as the rice will need place to expand. Finish until the meat mixture finishes. If the meat mixture is still left, you can just make small meat balls and cook or you can use a tomato or a zucchini in stead of a pepper. Just make holes in them and proceed.
- In another small bowl mix water, olive oil, two tablespoons of tomato paste and half a teaspoon salt. And pour in to the cooking pot. Place all the now-stuffed peppers into the pot too.
- Cook, at high heat first, when the water comes to boil reduce the heat and cook about 30 minutes. Keep the lid closed. Using a pressure cooker will reduce the time. If this is your choice, reduce the water by half and cook just for 5 minutes.
- Serve warm. Garnish with plain yogurt. You may serve plain pasta - such as farfalle next to it.
Notes
You can replace rice with grated cauliflower to make it keto and with fewer calories. 350 grams will be enough. You can use a food processor to grate the cauliflower.
If you are planning to freeze, do not use ground meat that has been frozen before.
If you run out of peppers use other vegetables such as tomatoes or zucchini. Or just make meatballs and place them in the pot without stuffing.