Serves 4
Stuffed peppers makes a great lunch or dinner. You may choose to use a combination of green, red, yellow or orange peppers for a variety of color combination and flavors.
If you are vegetarian you can simply swap the meat with the vegetarian mince.
Ingredients
50g split yellow peas
Salt
80g Basmati rice
20g butter
4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
4 tbsp tomato puree
½ tbsp honey
6 medium firm capsicums peppers (try to choose dose that sit easily)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium red onion, chopped
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
½ cinnamon
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
350g lean minced lamb or beef
20g mint leaves, finely chopped
30g coriander, finely chopped
20g flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
4 whole spring onions, finely sliced
Method
Add the peas and ½ teaspoon of salt with 750ml water and bring to boil, turn the heat down to low and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes until they are tender. Drain the peas and set aside.
Rinse the rice under cold water until water runs clear. Add it to 500ml water, butter and half a teaspoon of salt and bring it boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes depending on the kind of rice. (It should be cooked throughout and holds its shape perfectly, not mushy).
Drain the rice in a fine-mesh colander but keep 250ml of the rice water in a ball and discard the rest if any left and if its not enough add some water to it. Set aside the cooked rice. Add 2 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses, 2 tablespoon of tomato puree and the honey to the rice water to make the sauce, ( if you like the sauce to be sour omit the honey). Set aside.
To prepare the peppers, cut the tops off the peppers in a circle to create a ‘lid’. Scrape out the seeds and membrane very carefully. Avoid making any cuts or holes in the body of the peppers.
Boil water in a large pan and add the peppers without their lids when its rapidly boiling, put the lid on and let it boil for 10 minutes. Discard the water. Set the peppers aside.
To make the filling, add the olive oil in a large frying pan over a low to medium heat. Add the onion and mix well, and fry for 10 minutes or until soft and lightly golden. Add turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and black paper and stir for 30 seconds.
Add the minced meat to the frying pan – breaking up the minced meat with a wooden spoon and stirring gently until the meat is browned and cooked. Add chopped herbs and spring onions and stir constantly for 2 minutes.
Add the rest of tomato puree and rest of pomegranate molasses to the mixture and stir gently until completely mixed. Then add rice and spilt yellow peas and mix. Season.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/ 400°F/ Gas 6.
Fill the peppers one by one (try to push them in if you end up with extra stuffing) and put their matching lids on. Place the peppers next to each other in a baking dish. Pour the rice water into the baking dish but be careful not to pour it on the top of or inside the peppers.
Bake the peppers in the oven for 30 minutes. At the time of serving pour some of the juice on top of each pepper.
Enjoy!
Atoosa xx
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