This tasty recipe is inspired by the amazing roasted peppers of summer. As our trip draws to a close, I find that I am starting to look forward to heading home. It’s been a long, long time since I have set foot on US soil and I think I am ready. I will miss traveling and I will miss the freedom. But I am looking forward to having more than 5 shirts and a fully stocked kitchen.
I am feeling a little bit nostalgic as well about all the places we have been, the amazing foods, and the people we have met. So, in that same regard, this post is a nod to our time with Selin at Turkish Flavours in Istanbul. Improvised and tweaked with what is available, of course. What do you know, it worked out fine! Actually, it turned out better than fine, the peppers were absolutely wonderful. I also ignored the directions to steam the pepper and roasted them, because there is just something about roasted peppers that is so good.
When we lived in Kansas City we lived a few blocks from the Farmers Market (very much on purpose, not only was it a really awesome neighborhood, but I was giddy over the idea of living that close to fresh fruits and vegetables) and late in the summer every year there was a man who would come and roast peppers. You could always tell when he was around from the wonderful smell that permeated the whole market. As soon as we smelled those peppers we would make a beeline over to his stall and pick up a few pounds of roasted peppers ranging from mild to spicy and use them in just about everything.
I roasted some of my own peppers this afternoon and stuffed them with a variation of the aromatic Turkish flavors that Selin recommends and they absolutely hit the spot on this nostalgia inducing day. Despite the raisins, mint, cinnamon and sugar in the recipe these peppers are not sweet, those flavors provide just a little warmth which is a nice contrast to the acidic tomato and the hint of spice from the peppers and jalapeño. So, enough waxing poetic about the merits of roasted peppers (though I could go on) here is the adapted recipe for stuffed roasted peppers with aromatic brown rice:
- 6 Peppers
- 1 cup Brown Rice, cooked
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 2 Tbsp Pumpkin Seeds (I loved this, Nick did not. The original recipe calls for pine nuts instead)
- 1 Small Onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeño, minced (optional)
- 1 cup Canned, Diced Tomatoes
- Pinch of Sugar
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 2 tsp Dried Mint
- 2 Tbsp Golden Raisins
- Salt and pepper
- ½ cup Parsley, chopped
- Feta Cheese, to garnish
- Preheat oven to broil. Broil washed peppers until skin is blistered and charred. Flipping occasionally to ensure they get cooked on all sides. Remove from oven and wrap in a dish towel or saran wrap and allow them to steam about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add pumpkin seeds, onion and jalapeño. Sauté until onions are soft. Add tomatoes, sugar, cinnamon and mint. Stir well and allow to simmer a few minutes. Add rice and raisins. Toss to ensure that everything is well mixed and remove from the heat. Stir in parsley.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Unwrap peppers and cut a slit in one side, leaving about ¼" on both the top and bottom of the pepper. This will help keep the filling contained and prevent the pepper from flopping open. Using a tiny spoon or your fingers, scoop out the seeds and discard. Using that same spoon or your fingers, stuff the filling into the empty cavity of the peppers. Line peppers on a parchment lined baking tray and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. We served ours with a little bit of the Bulgarian feta that is so prevalent here and I highly recommend that!