Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed vegetables make such a hardy meal all in one. I love to make stuffed peppers, preferably red ones, because they become sweet when baked. I can stuff them with a meat filling or a rice/herb filling which is what I did this time around.

The garden has given all it had to give, and I collected my herbs, squash blossoms, squash and jalapenos. The red peppers came from the Farmer's Market in town.

Ingredients

 

9 peppers

1 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped mint or parsley

6-7 squash blossoms(optional)

11/4 cup whole grain rice

2 1/2 cups water

1 14oz. can chopped tomatoes

1 cup extra virgin Greek olive oil

1 teaspoon salt
1/2  teaspoon pepper

Filling

Trim the ends off the blossoms, chop your mint or parsley and finely chop your onion. Sauté the onion with 1 tablespoon olive oil until it turns translucent. Add the rice and mix well. Add the water, bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer, cover and cook for about 30 minutes if using whole grain. If using regular rice, cook until almost done. Mix in the herbs, salt and pepper, half the tomatoes and half the oil.

Cut the tops off the peppers and clean out the spines and seeds.

Place your peppers in the pan. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.When I make them, I like to make a big pan because they make great leftovers. Heated up the next day, the flavors are more intense and blended. 

Spoon the rice mixture into the peppers and blossoms and add a little to each of the remaining oil. Replace the caps on the peppers and pour the remaining tomatoes around the pan. Add about a cup of water and place in the oven.

 

 Cook for about an hour or until the peppers are soft. Add more water while they are baking if the pan becomes dry. If the tops get burned, cover lightly with aluminum foil.

Serve the stuffed peppers with a salad and some Greek yogurt on the side, feta cheese or steamed beets like I did here, for a well rounded dinner.
Enjoy!

Maria