mejadra stuffed pointed sweet peppers
I'm not extremely fond of bell peppers but I think these pointed sweet ones are much more elegant in taste and texture than regular ones. I combined them with the deep Middle-Eastern taste of mejadra, a spicy smoky tomato sauce and the bitter richness of tahini. Plus: if you’re a regular cook, chances are that you have most ingredients already at hand (I first made this when I hadn't done any grocery shopping and shops were closed). Other plus: this again is cheap AF.
serves two:
ingredients
peppers
two pointed sweet peppers
100g green lentils
100g rice (I used basmati)
2 medium sized onions
2 teasp cumin
pinch of cinnamon
tahini to serve
sauce
1 onion
1 large clove garlic
pinch of cayenne
pinch of smoked paprika powder
400g canned cubed tomatoes
+ salt, pepper, olive oil
optional: feta, arugula, dill, flatleaf parsley, lemon...
method
Preheat the oven to 190°C. Boil rice and lentils, drain and transfer to a bowl. Halve the onions and slice into thin (half) rings. Heat about 1,5 tbsp olive oil in a pan on medium heat and add the onions. Caramelizing these takes time so be patient, stir regularly and wait for them to turn a deep golden brown. Halve and deseed the peppers, put into a roasting pan, season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and put in the oven for about 15 minutes.
For the sauce: chop onion and garlic and cook until soft in about 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add a pinch of cayenne and smoked paprika. Smoked paprika overpowers quickly so rather use too little and add some later if you feel like the sauce needs it. Add the canned tomatoes and about 1/3 a can of water. Season with salt and boil for about ten minutes. You can mix the sauce or not, leaving in chunks of tomato is pretty tasty as well.
Once the onions have caramelized, add 2t of cumin and a pinch of cinnamon and stir well. Deglaze the pan with a little bit of water and scrape all of those good bits off the bottom. Mix in the cooked rice and lentils and season well with salt and pepper.
serve
Fill the peppers with the rice and lentil mixture and drizzle with the tomato sauce and a few tablespoons of tahini. You can add crumbled feta, some arugula leaves, sprinkle with some lemon juice, add dill, etc.