Stuffed Peppers

“This is such a popular dish in Macedonian cooking. Everyone has a different take, but traditionally the stuffing is made with ground beef and rice. Depending on what looks best at the butcher, I sometimes substitute other ground meats as well, particularly pork. My aunt Sophie used to make the best stuffed peppers in our family and her tip was to put tomato slices on top to keep the rice moist while baking.” – Macedonia the Cookbook by Katerina Nitsou 

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Stuffed Peppers

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Servings 4

Author Katerina Nitsou, author of Macedonia the Cookbook

Ingredients

• 8 large bell peppers ¼ inch (6 mm) cut off the tops, seeds removed
• Olive oil
• 1 lb (450 g) lean ground beef
• 2 medium yellow onions grated
• 1 cup (180 g) long-grain white rice, rinsed and drained
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1 cup red wine
• ½ cup (12 g) finely chopped fresh parsley
• Boiling water
• 2 large tomatoes cut into 8 thick slices

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). In a deep baking dish or Dutch oven, arrange the peppers upright so that they fit snugly and won’t topple over.
• In a large sauté pan, heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil over high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring constantly, until the meat is just cooked. Drain the fat from the meat and set the meat aside.
• In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, rice, garlic, salt, black pepper, oregano, paprika, and tomato paste. Sauté, stirring, for 1 minute, just to toast the rice. Pour in the wine and bring to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the meat, parsley, and 1 cup (240 ml) of the boiling water.
• Loosely fill each pepper with the meat and rice mixture to just below the brim of the pepper. Gently press one slice of tomato on top of the opening of each pepper.
• Pour ½ cup (120 ml) of the boiling water into the bottom of the baking dish. Tightly cover the dish with a lid or aluminium foil and bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove the lid or foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the rice is cooked.

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