We are in Turkey this week! I decided to not buy a cookbook because, well, we settled on Turkey on Sunday night and with Amazon Prime, we wouldn't get the book until at least Wednesday morning and I do my grocery shopping on Tuesdays. I wasn't able to find any at our library and I could have requested it from another library but, again, wouldn't have had it in time for grocery shopping. The internet to the rescue!
I found lots and lots of "Top Turkish Meals" lists and chose the ones that they all had in common and then started searching for recipes. I found this website, Ozlem's Turkish Table, and, wow. she is amazing! If you want to read a fantastic food blogger, check her out. If you prefer mediocre (at best) please continue reading me!
Ingredients
Biber Dolma
3 medium sized bell peppers or 5-6 small ones. I used 2 red peppers since it was just going to be James and I.
4 medium tomatoes. I used 2.
6-8 garlic cloves, crushed. I used 2.
For the filling:
1/2 cup basmati rice
1/2 cup ground beef or lamb; I used beef
2 onions grated. I used half of one.
Bunch of parlsey, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried mint. I had fresh mint so I used that.
S&P
For the sauce:
Flesh of the scooped tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red pepper flakes or tomato paste (optional)
Mix the ingredients for the filling thoroughly and set aside. Cut the tops off the peppers and clean out the seeds and membrane. Hold onto the tops! Same thing with the tomatoes; cut off the tops and save. Scoop out the flesh but save it for the sauce. Fill the peppers and tomatoes with the filling until 3/4 full. Don't fill to the top since the rice needs space to expand. Cover the veggies with their respective tops. Place the veggies upright in a pan and pack tightly. Mix all the ingredients of the sauce together and pour over the veggies. Pour some water into the pan until it covers almost half of the veggies. Season with S&P and stir in the garlic cloves. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and boil for 45 minutes.
Bulgur Wheat Pilaf
2 cups coarse bulgur wheat. Apparently there are different kinds of coarse bulgur wheat. The guy at Davod's recommended #3 so that's what I used.
1 green bell pepper diced
2 medium onions, finely chopped. I used 1.
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsps butter
14 oz can chopped tomatoes. I chopped one tomato.
2 1/2 cups hot veggie or chicken stock or water. I used veggie.
S&P to taste
Saute the onions and bell pepper in the butter and olive oil. Add the tomatoes and the stock. Bring to a boil. Add the bulgur and S&P and stir once. Cover and cook on low heat until the liquid is absorbed. Remove the pan from heat and remove the cover. Cover with a dish towel, replace the cover, and let it sit for 15 minutes so it can absorb any remaining moisture. Word to the wise, make sure the burner is off before you do this or you run the risk of thinking you're about to burn your house down.
This was a good easy meal but it wasn't anything special. I've made stuff peppers before so I knew what to expect in terms of flavor but I did learn a new way of preparing them. I always made the meat and rice separately and then combined them in the peppers and roasted in the oven. This is a faster method for sure. The bulgur pilaf was really good and buttery. I've had bulgur before but this was fluffier and tastier.
I think the part that probably didn't work for me was all the bell pepper. When I first started cooking regularly, I always used bell peppers. They are really easy to cook with and are a great way to add flavor. We probably ate bell peppers at least twice a week for almost a year so ever since then, I'm not a huge fan. I don't dislike them but I also don't seek them out. Probably shouldn't have chosen such a heavy bell pepper meal BUT the internet wouldn't shut up about biber dolma so I had to do it. The internet is so pushy.
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