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

Saronida Restaurant-Cooking with Angeliki and Stavros in Greece

Yum!Stuffed peppers and tomatoes

Eggplant stuffed with meat sauce, béchamel sauce and topped with grated cheese. Yum!

 

One of my favorite places to have dinner in Saronida, Greece is the Saronida Restaurant of Mr. Stavros and his wife, Angeliki. It's down home Greek cooking at its best! I've always wanted to visit their kitchen and witness the culinary alchemy that produces succulent, flavorful dishes but had never had the chance until recently.

Stavros and Angeliki welcomed me smiling into their spotless kitchen, even though they were in the process of cooking for the evening's crowd.

I was impressed by the freshness and quality of their ingredients and the pride which they take in cooking traditional Greek recipes with locally grown products. They only use olive oil for cooking, grown in their own groves and pressed in the local Messinia olive press. The meats are always Greek, the eggs come from their own chickens and the rooster stewed in wine is also from their own flock. The olives are cured by them and the quince preserves served over Greek yogurt are made by Angeliki from quince grown in her yard in her hometown, Drakoneri, Messinia.

Angeliki's Quince Preserves

eggs from their own chickens!

 

I'm impressed by the amount of work involved and by Stavros' and Angeliki's good nature despite the heat in the kitchen and the preparation. They are not new to this business, they've been at it for 24 years, since they moved upstairs from the restaurant with their young children. Those were hard years but with a philosophy of cooking simply good dishes using only the best ingredients they've built a loyal clientele that dines there night after night.

There's nothing like sitting in their large courtyard under the stars and dining on specialties like roasted lamb, stuffed peppers, Greek salads, feta cheese and pints of ice cold draft beer.

Next time you're thinking about where to go on vacation you should consider Saronida, in Attiki. It has one of the most wonderful beaches and that might be reason enough, yet Saronida Restaurant's culinary feasts are a reason to visit in and of itself!

Enjoy!

Maria