Vegan Turkish Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

• 8 green bell pepper
• 200 g white rice, rinsed
• 2 tomato, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp pine nuts
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 3 dl water
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Method

1. 1.

   Hollow out the peppers — Slice the tops off the peppers and reserve as lids. Scoop out the seeds and membranes with a spoon, then set the hollowed peppers aside.

2. 2.

   Cook the rice filling base — Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the onion for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the pine nuts and toast briefly until golden, then stir in the tomato paste, allspice and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute more.

3. 3.

   Stuff the peppers — Remove from the heat and stir in the rice, chopped tomatoes, raisins, dill, parsley, salt and pepper until well combined. Spoon the filling into each pepper, leaving a little room at the top for the rice to expand, then replace the lids.

4. 4.

   Arrange peppers in the dish — Arrange the stuffed peppers snugly upright in a baking dish. Pour the water around them so it comes about a third of the way up the peppers, and drizzle a little extra olive oil over the tops.

5. 5.

   Bake and rest the peppers — Cover with foil and bake at 190°C for about 40 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the rice is fully cooked. Let rest for 10 minutes, then serve warm or at room temperature with lemon wedges.