Stuffed Bell Peppers

I made these for the first time last night and they were a huge success. K exclaimed I'd made "Egyptian mashi-style rice" as apparently the rice used to stuff the peppers tasted just like that. Who'd have known. I suppose I could even call these "Egyptian stuffed bell peppers."

Overall, it's not the quickest recipe to make as there's a lot of vegetable chopping involved, but in the end it is so, so worth it. Next time I'll have to do a photo montage as I go along to post on here. The recipe I made would have comfortably served 3-4 as we had leftovers. Depending on how you want to serve them, either 1 full pepper to a person or 1/2s, this makes a great side dish or starter.

So here's what you'll need: 

4 medium sized bell peppers - I used 2 red and 2 yellow
1/3 cup dry rice
Chicken stock
1 medium onion
1 large carrot

1 medium tomato
1/4 cup red cabbage
1 plain yoghurt
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon each cumin, salt, and black pepper
1 tbsp of white feta

Directions:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 Celsius (350 Fahrenheit). As your oven is heating up, slice your peppers in half (leaving the top on. You want the pepper to give you a nice little "bowl"). In a non-stick pan, drizzle 1 tbsp EVOO over the peppers. When your oven is heated, stick the peppers inside for about 15 minutes. 
2. While your peppers are cooking, cook your rice with a chicken stock cube (or chicken broth if you prefer). Cook for about 15 minutes, or until almost done. Meanwhile: 
3. Chop your onions and carrots into small pieces. In a large saucepan, thrown in your remaining 1 tbsp EVOO, chopped onions and carrots. Cook on medium heat until the onions are almost see through. 
4. As your onions and carrots simmer, chop up and rinse your red cabbage and tomato. Add this to your onion mix when the onions are ready. Leave simmer on medium heat until your rice is ready, stirring occasionally. 
5. Add your rice to the vegetable mix. Cook for about 1 - 2 minutes with the veggies, then add in your yoghurt and feta, stirring occasionally. 
6. By this time, your peppers should be finished their first round. Pull them out so that they're not overly hot when you are trying to stuff them (you don't want to burn yourself!)
7. As your peppers cool slightly, stir your rice and vegetables thoroughly. You want the feta melted and the yoghurt absorbed. This should take you about 4 minutes. 
8. When your rice mixture is finished, spoon it out a tablespoon at a time, and add roughly 2.5 tablespoons to each of your pepper 'bowls.' You don't want the rice spilling out, so how much rice you add will depend on the size of your peppers. 
9. Throw the stuffed peppers back into your oven, and cook for another 10 - 15 minutes. (10 minutes will keep the peppers tasting more 'raw' so gauge it on how well you liked your peppers cooked through). 
10. Serve hot. 

A great and tasty dish for any time of the year. I know we'll be making these again. 

Bil hana wa Shiva!