Roasted stuffed peppers / vegetables

This is a traditional Bulgarian autumn dish called “roasted stuffed vegetables”. This particular meal is served mainly during the fall and there are lot of families preparing it especially for the holidays in September and October.

Each one of the vegetables contributes with its own full flavour for this amazingly delicious meal.

The best way to pick your veggies for this meal is to shop around the farms in your area. There is a lot you could enjoy from “The Horn of Plenty” - full colour, ripe, and tasteful Hungarian peppers, eggplants, zucchini, and tomatoes.

6 Hungarian peppers

1 eggplant

1 carrot, chopped

1 large tomato

1 small size onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 zucchini

1 lb ground pork or ground meat mix (60% pork and 40% beef)

1 cup rice

12 oz vegetable or chicken broth

2 oz sunflower oil

2 tbsp winter savoury or oregano

1tsp cumin

salt, grounded black pepper

For the toping see topings for Musaka below: http://margatyna.blogspot.com/2010/09/musaka.html

3 eggs

1 cup yogurt

1 tbsp flour

salt and black pepper to taste

·        Cut off the pepper and tomato tops, clean peppers from the seeds, cut the eggplants and zucchinis on half.

·        Dig out the pulp of tomatoes, zucchinis and eggplants using spoon carefully. Season cavities with salt lightly.

·        Mince the eggplant, zucchini and tomato pulp, mix with chopped carrot, onion, garlic, pepper and tomato tops.

 ·        In a big sauté pan pour 2 ounce of vegetable (preferably sunflower) oil, add the above prepared mixture, and simmer for about 5 minutes.

·        Simmer and stir occasionally until the vegetables become softer.

·        Add the pork meat, season with salt, ground pepper, oregano, winter savoury, paprika, and cumin.

·        Add one cup of rice and 12 ounce of water or broth cover with lid and turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

·        Stuff the veggies lightly with the mix and place in the roasting pan. Do not overstuff because during roasting the rice will expand.

·        Pour water so the veggies are covered about three quarters. If there is a leftover from the meat mixture, lay it evenly around the veggies in the pan.

·        Bake in oven 230C / 450F for 45 min-1h or until its done.

·        Pour the toping  on and broil for 7-10 min