Stuffed Bell Peppers

When you taste this tradional Turkish food, it will be very difficult to forget its taste for you. 
It is preferred as a starter but also eaten as a main course.
Purple basil, parsley, mint, dill, pinenuts, currants and spices enrich its savour.


Stuffed bell peppers

Ingredients:
10 bell peppers (medium size)
1+1/2 cup rice
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes (pureed)
1 extra tomato (sliced to cover the tops of stuffed peppers)
1/2 banch dill (chopped)
1/2 banch mint (chopped)
1/2 banch purple basil (chopped)
1/2 banch parsley (chopped)
1 teaspoon blackpepper
2 tablespoons pinenuts
2 tablespoons currants
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup water

Instructions:
1- Wash peppers. Cut the tops and remove seedpods.
2- Sote chopped onions and pinenuts with olive oil in a pot until transparent and onions have softened.
3- Add pureed tomatoes and stir gently for 1 minute.
4-Add the rice, stir a few times. 
Then add currants, salt, blackpepper, allspice, dried mint if using. 
Continue cooking for a few minutes.
 5- Then add 1 cup of water and cover the lid. Cook it on lower heat.
6- When all the water has been absorbed, take the pot off the heat. (at the point the rice will only be cooked about half way)
7- Add chopped dill, mint, parsley, purple basil and mix slowly without breaking rice. Stir well and let cool.

8- Stuff the peppers with the rice mixture with a help of spoon . Then cover with the slice of tomato.

9- Put all stuffed peppers in a pot, standing up, next to eachother until the whole pot is full.
Add 4-5 tablespoons olive oil and water to come up only half way of the peppers.

10- Cover the lid and cook over low heat until the peppers are softened and rice completely cooked. 
11- Take of the heat and let cool completely.
12- Serve cold with lemon slices. 

Bon  Appetite.....