Bulgarian stuffed peppers

This is a dish I grew up with and is traditional  Bulgarian dish. It has many regional variations, so no particular way is the "right way". I altered the original recipe a bit, in that instead of regular white, long grain rice (which you are more than welcome to use) I used quinoa, wild and brown rice.

You can use any peppers you desire. I prefer the long red peppers but couldn't find any, so I used cubanelle peppers. Also, I only had four peppers so ended up having a lot more of the filling, so I just spread it around the peppers in the pan. 

What you will need...

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 carrot, finely diced

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 celery rib, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes

6 long red peppers, or cubanelle , tops removed, seeded and membranes cleaned out 

1 -1.5 lbs of lean ground beef

3/4-1 cup of rice (if using regular white rice, make sure you rinse it well)

I used 1/2 quinoa and 1/2 cup half wild and brown rice mix

1 tbsp of sweet paprika

2 tsp of dried summer savory (or oregano, if you don't have that on hand)

2 tbsp of fresh parsley, chopped 

1 tbsp of fresh dill, chopped (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:

4 tbsp of full fat yogurt (I use the balkan style, which is 6% milk fat)

1 tbsp of flour

2 eggs

a pinch  of paprika 

and 2-3 tbsp of the liquid from the cooked peppers

  

How to prepare it...

 In a large pan, over medium heat sautee the celery, onion, carrots and garlic until soft.

 Add in the rice,  gently fry it until it's translucent, if using white rice. If using quinoa, wild rice mix, cook for 2-3 min. 

 Add in the ground beef and fry until it is almost cooked through.

Stir in the diced tomatoes and cook about 5 min,  or until the rice starts absorbing the liquid.

Add in your spices/herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Salt the inside of each pepper and stuff with ground beef/rice mixture.

Arrange in a pan. 

If you have any remaining mix, spread it around the peppers. Add in just just under a cup of water to the pan (usually the same amount of water  as rice).

 Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 45-50 min.

Once your peppers are cooked. You can prepare the sauce.

In a cold sauce pan, mix together yogurt, and flour, beat in the eggs. Over low-medium heat, heat up the sauce until it comes to a gentle simmer, stirring continuously. Add in the juice from the cooked red peppers and season with salt. The sauce will thicken.