Dolma - Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers/Vegetables
- Minutes to Prepare:
- Minutes to Cook:
- Number of Servings: 36
Ingredients
3/4 C. RAW Basmati Rice3/4 Lb. Ground Chicken3/4 Onion (~100 g)2 Tbsp Tomato Paste2 Tbsp Mustard1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil1 Tbsp Lemon Juice1 Tbsp ground cumin2 tbsp chopped fresh dill1 tsp saltYou will also need:1.5 cups BOILING water.3 small/skinny green bell peppers 3 small/skinny red bell peppers3 fat zucchini, cut in half & inner flesh scooped out.You don't have to use exactly those vegetables. Banana peppers, sweet or hot, also make excellent dolma. You can also use scooped out potatoes, onions, baby eggplants or boiled savoy cabbage leaves.Basically, you want to fill your pan TIGHTLY.
1. Rince the Basmati Rice with a fine strainer and place in bowl
2. Place onion (chop it into 4 pieces) into a mini-blender (like magic bullet). Add the Tomato Paste, Mustard, Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, salt & cumin. Blend VERY well, until the mixture is a thick sauce. Mix this thoroughly with the rice.
(If you don't have a blender, grate the onion directly into the rice & add all the other ingredients & mix)
3. Chop the fresh dill & mix in with the rice. If you don't have fresh dill, use 1 tbsp dry dill - but the fresh is better.
4. Cook the ground chicken on med-low heat, in a small covered pan, stirring occasionally.
5. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the vegetables you are going to stuff.
-For peppers, cut around the tops leaving it slightly attached at one side if possible. Scoop out seeds. Poke 4 times all around the bottom half with a sharp knife.
-For zucchini, cut them in half, cut the bottoms so that they will sit "flat" standing up on the pan, & scoop out the inner flesh. Poke them with sharp knife.
-You can also use scooped out potatoes, onions, baby eggplants or boiled savoy cabbage leaves.
6. Pack the vegetables tightly in a pot (approx 5 quart size). If they are not tightly packed, they will roll during cooking and spill out their fillings.
7. Put some water on to boil (in a kettle).
8. Mix the cooked ground chicken (or ground beef) with the rice mixture. Scoop it out into the vegetables. Each pepper takes approximately 5 TBSP of mixture. Each zucchini takes approx 1 Tbsp of mixture. Don't tightly pack the stuffing in them, they need room to expand as the rice cooks.
9. Place the tops back on the stuffed peppers. If there are vegetables that have no tops, slice a tomato and cover them.
10. Pour 1.5 cups of boiling water into the pan. Place on medium heat, boiling for 40 minutes. (Reduce heat to med-low or low once it's boiling). Check occasionally to make sure the water hasn't boiled away completely. Make sure the pot is tightly covered.
Note: If you put too much water in the pot, it will take away too much of the flavour and the dolma will turn out very bland. I have found that 1.5 cups with this size recipe works out perfectly. (I have a little bit of water left in the bottom after 40 minutes). You may need to adjust this depending on your altitude, burner, etc, etc.
This way of cooking stuffed peppers is completely different to the North American way of stuffing the peppers with already cooked rice - but if you're patient enough to try this, it is WAY better.... enjoy!
(makes 6 stuffed peppers and 6 stuffed zucchini halves).
Number of Servings: 36
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user SUZANNEY73.
2. Place onion (chop it into 4 pieces) into a mini-blender (like magic bullet). Add the Tomato Paste, Mustard, Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, salt & cumin. Blend VERY well, until the mixture is a thick sauce. Mix this thoroughly with the rice.
(If you don't have a blender, grate the onion directly into the rice & add all the other ingredients & mix)
3. Chop the fresh dill & mix in with the rice. If you don't have fresh dill, use 1 tbsp dry dill - but the fresh is better.
4. Cook the ground chicken on med-low heat, in a small covered pan, stirring occasionally.
5. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the vegetables you are going to stuff.
-For peppers, cut around the tops leaving it slightly attached at one side if possible. Scoop out seeds. Poke 4 times all around the bottom half with a sharp knife.
-For zucchini, cut them in half, cut the bottoms so that they will sit "flat" standing up on the pan, & scoop out the inner flesh. Poke them with sharp knife.
-You can also use scooped out potatoes, onions, baby eggplants or boiled savoy cabbage leaves.
6. Pack the vegetables tightly in a pot (approx 5 quart size). If they are not tightly packed, they will roll during cooking and spill out their fillings.
7. Put some water on to boil (in a kettle).
8. Mix the cooked ground chicken (or ground beef) with the rice mixture. Scoop it out into the vegetables. Each pepper takes approximately 5 TBSP of mixture. Each zucchini takes approx 1 Tbsp of mixture. Don't tightly pack the stuffing in them, they need room to expand as the rice cooks.
9. Place the tops back on the stuffed peppers. If there are vegetables that have no tops, slice a tomato and cover them.
10. Pour 1.5 cups of boiling water into the pan. Place on medium heat, boiling for 40 minutes. (Reduce heat to med-low or low once it's boiling). Check occasionally to make sure the water hasn't boiled away completely. Make sure the pot is tightly covered.
Note: If you put too much water in the pot, it will take away too much of the flavour and the dolma will turn out very bland. I have found that 1.5 cups with this size recipe works out perfectly. (I have a little bit of water left in the bottom after 40 minutes). You may need to adjust this depending on your altitude, burner, etc, etc.
This way of cooking stuffed peppers is completely different to the North American way of stuffing the peppers with already cooked rice - but if you're patient enough to try this, it is WAY better.... enjoy!
(makes 6 stuffed peppers and 6 stuffed zucchini halves).
Number of Servings: 36
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user SUZANNEY73.
Nutritional Info Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 37.6
- Total Fat: 1.5 g
- Cholesterol: 7.9 mg
- Sodium: 90.0 mg
- Total Carbs: 3.9 g
- Dietary Fiber: 0.2 g
- Protein: 2.2 g
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