Stuffed Peppers - A bit of Summer in a Pot

We have been busy the last couple of days and didn't think of going shopping - so when the question 'What's for dinner' came up yesterday, I was a bit stunned cause the fridge looked a bit pale and empty. I don't freeze meat but only buy fresh (a principle I might have to think over) so we had a choice, going out for a meal (Mr T is not too keen on restaurants) or have a meat free Sunday dinner - Meat Free it was as I offered him stuffed peppers with rice and vegetables. 

The first time I came across stuffed peppers was in Turkey a few years back where it is mostly stuffed with mince and rice, cooked in a tomato sauce. I simply adapted the idea. There is no recipe as I just took everything I had and made a dinner out of it but since Ava asked so nicely for the recipe, I am trying my best here. Also, the tomato sauce was a mix of tinned tomatoes (nothing wrong with that) and a jar of homemade tomato chutney that was too liquid to justify being called chutney (I am not without failure apparently).

Stuffed Peppers - A Taste of Summe

So here we go (I am writing it as I made it yesterday - this fed one man who wasn't able to move afterwards):

• 3 peppers (as it were I had a green, yellow and red one)
• 1 cup of cooked rice
• 1 carrot (peeled and chopped finely)
• 1 green chili (de-seeded and finely chopped)
• 3 cherry tomatoes (finely chopped)
• a jar of liquid tomato chutney (optional - as you might not have a jar of liquid chutney laying around)
• a tin of chopped tomatoes 
• handful of chopped parsley and basil

Cut the top of the peppers (keeping the tops) and take all the seeds out and hole out the pepper without damaging the wall. Mix the rice with the chopped vegetables and spoon it into the peppers (don't overload the peppers as the mixture will expand). Put the tops back on.

Pour the chopped tomatoes into a pot wide enough to take the peppers standing up. Add seasoning and herbs and place the stuffed peppers standing up side by side. Cover the pot with a lid and cook on a medium heat until the peppers are soft and the filling is piping hot. The length of time depends on how small you chopped the vegetables. You can of course also use cooked carrots

Bon Appetit