Turkish · 1 hr · serves 4

Stuffed Green Peppers (Biber Dolması)

Kept by The Bhook kitchen

Ingredients

• 8 small green bell peppers
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion
• 200 g medium-grain rice
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 handful flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tsp dried mint
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 250 ml hot water

Method

1. Rinse the peppers, cut the tops off, and gently remove the seeds and ribs to make a cavity. Set tops aside.
2. Finely chop onion, tomatoes, and parsley. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally.
3. Add rice to the onion and stir for 2-3 min until it looks glossy. Stir in tomato paste, tomatoes, parsley, dried mint, salt, and black pepper. Cook together for 3-4 min until tomatoes have softened.
4. Take pan off heat. Spoon the filling loosely into each pepper, stopping 1 cm below the rim so the rice has room to expand as it cooks. Nestle the pepper tops back onto each pepper as lids.
5. Stand stuffed peppers upright in a saucepan just large enough to hold them together. Pour 250 ml hot water around (not over) the peppers.
6. Cover and cook on low heat for 35-40 min. Peppers are ready when softened and rice inside is plump.

Don’t pack the filling tightly or the rice won’t cook through. Leave a little space.