Greek stuffed tomatoes and peppers

Greek stuffed tomatoes and peppers

Ingredients:
4 large ripe tomatoes
4 large red, yellow, green or orange peppers
¾ cup long grain rice (Jasmine yields the best texture)
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
4-6 leaves kale (can use chard too, see note)
½ cup parsley, chopped
½ cup pine nuts 
½ cup currants, optional
½ cup low sodium veggie broth or water (use broth for more flavor)
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into two inches pieces
¼ teaspoon salt , plus a few pinches (may need to adjust if using broth)
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus a few pinches
¼ cup olive oil or use ½ cup broth or water to keep oil free

Instructions
We preheat the oven to 175C.  We cut the tops off of the tomatoes and peppers and remove the insides.  We save all of the tops to cover them later but discard the inside of the peppers and keep the inside of the tomatoes.  We sprinkle the cavity of the tomatoes and peppers with a pinch of salt and pepper.  We chop the tomato pulp well using a pimmer but we can use a knife, also.  We ake out half and set aside for later, then add the kale and the parsley into the processor or onto your cutting board.  We chop again until everything is mixed well.  In a pot, we our 1/4 cup broth/water or 2 tablespoons of the olive oil if using oil and we sauté the chopped onions on medium heat.  We may need to add more broth/water if not using oil.  When the onions look transparent, we add the rice, mix with the onion, add 1/3 cup broth/water, cover and simmer over low heat until the water is absorbed, about 5-7 minutes.  We add the chopped tomato pulp that has been mixed with the kale and the parsley.  We add pine nuts, currants (if using), ¼ teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Let it simmer until most of the liquids have evaporated, about 3 minutes.  we taste and make sure the rice is half cooked, add more broth/water if needed and cook longer if it is not half cooked.  In the mean time, we peel the potatoes, cut them into 2 inch pieces and sprinkle them with a pinch of salt and pepper.  We arrange the tomatoes and peppers in a 9 x 13 baking dish.  We stuff them with the half cooked rice mixture until they are 3/4 of the way full.  We cover them with the saved tops and brush the top with olive oil if using oil.  We arrange the potatoes between them.  We sprinkle the remaining chopped tomato pulp over the potatoes and we drizzle with the leftover olive oil if using.  We make sure there is enough liquid to cover the bottom of the pan and we add the leftover broth/water if needed.  We bake for 45-60 minutes, checking periodically to see if more liquid is needed, we don't want the bottoms to burn. If we need to add broth/water, we make sure you heat it first. We taste as we go to check the rice, if the rice is cooked then we pull them out of the oven. 

Recipe Notes
Kale is the best leafy green to use as it is the sturdiest. Chard could also be used as a second choice but beware of spinach as it will melt into the rice.
We can use water instead of broth but broth will give more flavor, we adjust amount of salt if we use broth.

Itadakimasu!

Dix Love,

Re: Greek stuffed tomatoes and peppers

I tried it and I absolutely love it! Thank you!

Re: Greek stuffed tomatoes and peppers

Am so happy!!!!!!  It is my favorite summer food!!!  It can be eaten in room temperature or even cold in very hot days!

Dix Love,