Last week I participated on SIAL Exhibition in Abu Dhabi. The event gathered together hundreds of food companies including representatives of the local health authorities. Since Dubai lacks of fresh and local fruits and veggies I was surprised to discover a whole stand from a local farm. They claimed all their products are organic and natural. Being raised in a country like Bulgaria where we start hearing about GMO food few years ago and then moving to the Emirates where everything is imported and hardly organic you will always look for the taste you know from your childhood. I miss the moments where I can cut a cucumber and the whole house will smell sweet and fresh. Or making a glass of fresh orange juice from only two fruits. Or adding olives to your tomato salad and with a single slice of bread you can have your lunch at summer time. This is why local stand with organic products grab my attention. I have got a pack of cherry tomatoes and bell peppers. Yesterday I found the same products in the hypermarket next home and then the idea of these stuffed bell peppers came up. I chose to stuff different colors of peppers as each one has different taste. The yellow and red are more on the sweet side, where the orange and green have a bit bitter pepper taste. For my stuffing I chose to use jasmine rice, minced beef, Spanish chorizo, raisins and pine nuts. For the sauce I made warm yogurt sauce with lemon.

Ingredients:

– 12 bell peppers

– 500 g minced beef

– 100 g chorizo

– 1 cup jasmine rice

– 50 g raisins

– 20 g pine nuts

– 1/2 chipped onion

– salt and pepper for seasoning

– olive oil for cooking

For the sauce:

– 1 pepper

– 50 g butter

– 500 ml water

– 300 g yogurt

– 2 eggs

– 3 tbsp white flour

– juice from one lemon

– salt and pepper for seasoning

Preparation:

Preheat 3-4 tbsp of olive oil in a big pan. Cook the onion, chorizo, minced beef, raisins and pine nuts until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile boil the rice and when ready add it to the meat mix. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Deseed the peppers and stuff them with the rice mix. Place them in a baking tray and add water (around 1 cm). Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the peppers are soft and cooked. Prepare the sauce by melting the butter and slightly cook one chopped pepper in it. Add the water and let it boil until reduce 1/3 of the liquid. In a separate bowl whisk the two eggs, yogurt, flour, lemon juice and seasonings. Add to the boiling pepper water and whisk for few minutes until it thicken. Serve the peppers and garnish with generous amount of the sauce.