Uuummm....😋😋😍😍😍
Dolmas
Ingredients:
3 medium size bell peppers – or 5-6 small bell peppers
4 medium tomatoes
6-8 cloves of garlic, crushed
For the filling:
1/2 cup ground beef/lamb
1/2 cup wholegrain basmati rice, rinsed
2 medium onions, grated
Bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried mint
2 tsp ground black pepper
Salt to taste
For the sauce:
The flesh of the scooped tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. red pepper paste or tomato paste – optional
Red pepper flakes to serve – optional
Bowl of plain Greek yogurt ( or natural yoghurt)
Method:
1. Put the ground meat in a large bowl and stir in the rest of the filling ingredients. Season and knead, until all blended well. The filling is ready.
2. Cut the stalk ends of the peppers and save them aside. Scoop out the seeds of the peppers.
3. Slice the tops of the tomatoes and save them aside. Using a spoon, scoop out the tomato flesh, chop them finely and reserve in a bowl. Take care not to pierce through the skin of the tomatoes.
4. Take a few spoonfuls of the filling and pack it into the vegetables, until they are about ¾ full. Take care not to overfill to the top, as the rice filling will need some space to expand. Place the stalk ends and tomato tops as lids.
5. Drizzle about 1 tbs of olive oil in to a heavy pan. Place the stuffed vegetables upright, packed tightly, in the pan.
6. For the sauce; combine the chopped tomato flesh with 1 tbsp. red pepper paste or tomato paste (if you are using, for a richer taste) and stir in to the pan. Then pour a couple of cups of water around the stuffed vegetables, until it covers just about the half of vegetables.
7. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Stir in the cloves of garlic and cover. Bring the liquid to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook gently for about 45 – 50 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the filling cooked.
8. Once cooked, I like to take their cap off and pour a little of the dolmas’ delicious sauce over each stuffed pepper and tomato before serving and put their cap back on.
9. Serve hot with plain natural or garlic yoghurt by the side.
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