stuffed vegetables

i should really be ashamed of myself for having such huge breaks between my posts, but let's just say i've been "busy." between work, sickness, becoming a doctor, finishing work, traveling, moving, and still unpacking, i've been taking a lot of pictures of food but not ever uploading them. so! hopefully i will start to get back into my blog (especially now that i'm unemployed at the moment ;))

here is something i made fairly recently-- stuffed vegetables. in homage to my persian side, i make these once in a while, but everytime it's a bit different. i usually make them vegetarian, but this time i used some nice grass fed organic beef. my recipe is to feed a small army, because i always feel that if i'm going to put that much work into it, i should freeze some of the stuffing for a later meal. i ended up putting away two bowls in the freezer for later, and i'm happy i did so... you can stuff just about anything. in this recipe i stuffed peppers and green apples. you can also do butternut squash (my favorite), zucchini, yellow squash, potatoes, etc...

(as always, this is the basic recipe that i play with, so feel free to up the spices to the combo you're happy with!)






Stuffed Vegetables

2 cups basmati rice
2 cups yellow split peas
3 Tbsp chopped garlic
1 lb organic beef
1 jumbo onion, chopped
2 Tbsp coconut oil
3 Tbsp cumin
3 Tbsp coriander
2 Tbsp saigon cinnamon
2 Tbsp salt+2 Tbsp for rice
1 Tbsp pepper
1 Tbsp hot sauce of your choice (i used Nando's wild herb)
1-2 Tbsp italian seasoning (or your own herb blend)
1/2 bunch chopped cilantro
1 large can of diced tomatoes
4 Tbsp lime juice
1/8 cup flavorful olive oil
(optional: chopped parsley)
vegetables of your choosing

In a small pot cook your rice (i boiled down the rice with 2 Tbsp salt). In another small pot cook the split peas (no salt!). Skim the foam off as it develops on the top. While the rice and peas are cooking, chop your onion and saute in oil. Add the garlic and stir for a minute or two. Add the beef to the onions, along with all of the seasonings. Cook until the beef is done. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the cooked rice, peas, and beef. Add the tomatoes, hot sauce, lime juice, olive oil, and cilantro and mix well. Taste and add more seasoning to your liking.

For the vegetables:

If stuffing peppers, cut off the tops and stuff, then replace the top and stick toothpicks in to keep the top in place.

For apples, cut of the top, scoop out the insides with a spoon and stuff. I like to scatter the insides around the cooking vegetables in the pyrex to give some more flavor to everything.

Baking:

Preheat the oven to about 375F when you start stuffing the veggies. Spray olive oil on your pyrex. Arrange the veggies standing up on the pyrex, and add some of the juice from the diced tomatoes as well as the insides of your vegetables around the stuffed ones. You can also add some stuffing around the veggies too. Cover with foil and place in the oven for approximately 30 minutes. Uncover and roast another 10 minutes or so or until they are done. They will be very hot, so sit back and admire before digging in :)