This is a Greek/Turkish style dish. Cinnamon is the key to the taste here. Its a spice I often forget about and only remember when making apple pies. But the Greeks know that cinnamon works brilliantly with meat. I served this with a Greek salad incorporating salty Feta cheese and black olives which offsets the sweet cinnamon.
Photographed today in natural light.
Ingredients
5 (bell) peppers
Olive oil to drizzle
350g minced (ground) beef
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tsp ground cinnamon
80g basmati rice
A few pinches of saffron
Salt as required
Basil leaves to serve (optional)
Method
Photographed today in natural light.
Ingredients
5 (bell) peppers
Olive oil to drizzle
350g minced (ground) beef
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tsp ground cinnamon
80g basmati rice
A few pinches of saffron
Salt as required
Basil leaves to serve (optional)
Method
- Heat the oven to 180 C. Half the peppers lengthwise and divest them of seeds. Try to cut them through the stalk which you leave intact on each half. It looks pretty!
- Place peppers on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 20-25 mins until softened and charred at the edges. Allow to cool.
- Cook the rice in water with a little salt, adding the saffron. I use the absorption method (twice the volume of water to rice). Allow to cool.
- Fry the ground beef in vegetable oil until browned. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more. Add tomato puree, cinnamon and a little water. Simmer for 20 minutes adding a little water if required. You want a moist but not sloppy mixture. Add salt to taste.
- Mix the rice with the beef. Arrange the pepper halves on a baking sheet and pile a generous amount of the beef and rice mixture into each half pepper.
- Drizzle olive oil over the peppers and bake for 20 minutes at 180 C.
- Serve with basil leaves scattered over and a drizzle of olive oil.
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