BELL PEPPERS STUFFED WITH PERSIAN RICE

Hippie Rice. That was Gracie's recipe pick this week. We are a group of bloggers cooking together using Mark Bittman's The Food Matters Cookbook as our inspiration. The recipe had raisins and nuts and broccoli. It sounded really good but the raisins made me think about my love for Persian rice and all Persian food for that matter. So I made Persian rice with currants, dried apricots, onions, garlic, and mint. A sauce of pomegranate molasses, tamarind paste, garlic, onions, and more apricots and currants. Can you taste it? This is good food. Stuff some bell peppers with the rice and bake it in the oven for a light and flavorful meal. Look for more Persian recipes to come. This is my year to master Persian cuisine.

For all the creative takes on Hippie Rice click over here to our Food Matters Project, and if you like what we are doing join in the fun! Next week we are making Sesame Noodles with Spinach and Salmon.

BELL PEPPERS STUFFED WITH PERSIAN RICE

For the rice:

2 cups Basmati rice

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. whole cumin seeds

3/4 cup currants

1/4 cup dried apricots, minced

1 TBSP. chopped fresh mint

1 TBSP. salt

2 tsp. tumeric

6 medium sized bell peppers

For the sauce:

1 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 TBSP. vegetable oil

4 dried apricots, chopped

1 TBSP. currants

1/2 cup pomegranate molasses

2 tsp. tamarind paste

1 tsp. salt or to taste

Bring 2 cups rice and 4 cups water to a boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Drain the rice and set aside.

Brown the onions in 1/4 cup vegetable oil until soft and golden. Add the garlic and cumin seeds. Cook until seeds have toasted.

Remove from heat and add the currants, apricots, mint, salt, and tumeric. Mix well and add the rice back in. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated.

For the sauce, Brown the onions until golden, add the garlic and brown. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 5 minutes. Add water as needed to make a nice sauce.

Cut the tops off the bell peppers and remove the core and seeds. Lightly baste the outsides of the peppers with olive oil. Fill with the rice mixture. Top with the sauce and bake at 375~ for 45 minutes.

Recipe adapted from food.lizsteinberg.com