How to make stuffed peppers ?

My most favourite dish in the world is stuffed peppers. There is hardly anything , that you can compare to the smell of  a roasting red  pepper. When I was a young  girl we used to have a special “pepper roaster”  if I can translate it  that way ;-).

very old fashioned “pepper roaster” 😉

What you do is you open the top it and you put the pepper inside it and after certain time relying more on hope, than anything else  you lift the bottom of it and the the ready pepper comes out cooked. The aroma of those peppers smells like a very hot late summer and I love it.

peppers ready to be cooked

My most favourite dish in the world is stuffed peppers. I already wrote that I know. I couldn’t think of anything else close to it, apart from stuffed vine leaves , but it is nearly the same thing. Even when I was a devoted meat eater that was still  my favourite food. I should have explored that earlier and realized, that vegan lifestyle was meant for me. Of course for many other people all over the world.

According to the latest research of how many people in the world are vegans there are not that many only 2%-3% of the population which is approximately 168 millions. The numbers are gradually increasing and many people become aware of the health, ethical and environmental benefits of being a vegan. More and more people are becoming aware of the reality of factory farming and the fact that nearly 80% of the crops and 70% of the antibiotics are given to animals that are just breed to be slaughtered.

 

So let’s go back to the stuffed peppers, that I made today.This is a very easy vegan recipe. It is a pretty simple recipe even if takes about an hour to prepare and another 45 minutes to finish them in the oven. When I am making stuffed peppers I always make a few extra and one of the reasons is because they taste very nice the next day as well.

So here is what you need

12 bell peppers

400 gr. of white rice (washed )

2 large onions

3 large potatoes(peeled and chopped on to big chunks)

6 cloves of garlic

2 x 500 gr. jars of tomato passata

some mint

some oregano

salt and pepper

olive oil

So the first thing you need to do is to clean the peppers and cut the tops , that you will be using as a lid once you stuffed them. The next thing is to peel and chop the onions and the garlic. Once you’ve chopped them heat some olive oil in a large pan and cook the onions and the garlic. Add the salt pepper and the mint and the oregano.Cook  on a medium heat until golden brown . Add the washed rice and mix well.Season again with some salt and pepper.  Then put 500 grams of tomato passata (if you do not have any you can blend some chopped and peeled tomatoes). Let is simmer for 10 minutes in a low heat. During that time you can arrange the peppers on the tray. Season them with salt and black pepper and put some olive oil on them.

The rice has to be hard half cooked , but not completely raw. Now you can start filling the peppers. The trick here is to leave about a third of the pepper on the top so the rice can expand.

just before they go into the oven

Once you’ve done that put some potatoes abound the peppers and finish with the tomato sauce.Place in the oven in about 160 C and relax.
In about 20 minutes or so you will start to sense the lovely aroma of the food.This is a time for you to open the oven and check on the peppers. Make sure that they are moist and the rice is swimming in sauce. If that is not the case it is a good idea to add some water inside to pepper to ensure that the rice is moist and saucy.

 

just before serving

The stuffed peppers are ready. Place them in a plate and enjoy. Sometimes I would make a tomato salad, but today we are having them on their own.

Bon appetit 🙂

So there you have it easy vegan recipe of stuffed peppers with rice, served with potato and water cress leaves. Can be enjoyed hot or cold.
Sending Blessings and Love
P.S This is day 88 of Word press Challenge to make a post every day. There are 139 days left of 2012.