lamb-stuffed peppers in spiced tomato sauce
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 8 medium bell peppers mixture of red, yellow and green
- 4 cups cooked short grain rice cooled (from 1 1/3 cup uncooked)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup minced fresh mint packed
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lb 500 g ground lamb
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 4 ½ cups diced tomatoes from 1 1/2-28 oz/796 mL cans
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ½ tsp cinnamon or to taste
- ⅛ tsp allspice or to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp minced fresh mint packed
- 1 tbsp minced fresh parsley packed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cut the tops of each pepper leaving the stems intact. Use a paring knife to cut away the seeds and ribs inside each pepper.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked rice, olive oil, cinnamon, allspice, garlic, mint, salt, pepper and lamb. Stuff into pepper cavities and top with pepper "lids". Arrange peppers in a large baking dish.
- To make the sauce, heat olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add garlic and saute until softened, about 1 minute. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, spices and herbs. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding up to a total of 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp allspice if you like more intense spice. Pour around peppers, then cover dish with aluminum foil and bake 1 hour, or until lamb is cooked through and peppers are soft.