Rice Pilaf with Green and Red Peppers and Chickpeas

On the previous post we gave you the super delicious recipe for chickpea casserole. Of course pilaf makes a perfect couple with this casserole. In our previous posts you can find the recipes for both rice and bulgur pilafs. This recipe is different version, richer in ingredients.

For Those who Love Sour Tastes: Smilax

I have previously given you the stir fry version of smilax which is also known as catbriers, greenbriers, prickly-ivys or sarsaparilla. I later decided to cook the stew version. This dish is the first of its kind, there are no other recipes out there. So if you would like to have a taste this sour dish, go ahead and try it out. Don't forget you can add yoghurt mixed with crushed garlic as a topping. They go wonderfully well together!

Stuffed Peppers in Olive Oil

Who can just stand there and not taste a lovely dish made with olive oil, especially stuffed peppers? Most folk hesitate to make it at home, thinking it's a difficult job to prepare stuffed peppers but of course here I am to "prove them wrong!" If you know the job it only takes 40 minutes to prepare this lovely dish. Here are the secrets, just follow:

Ingredients

• 750 gr small regular shaped green bell peppers
• 1 and a 1/2 cups of rice, washed and strained
• 2 middle size onions, chopped
• 2 middle size tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 a bunch of parsley, stems removed and chopped
• 5-6 stems of fresh mint, stems removed and chopped or 1 teaspoon of dry mint
• 1 tablespoon of small currants
• 1 tablespoon of pine nuts
• 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
• 1 lemon
• 1 small cup of olive oil
• 2 cups of hot water
• Salt

Directions

1. The stuffing: pour half of the olive oil in a pot, add the pine nuts, currants and chopped onion and cook for 1 minute. Next, add the strained rice and stir for 2 minutes on low heat. Take it off the heat and add the chopped parsley and mint, ground black pepper and salt. Mix it all together and let it cool.
2. Meanwhile, core the bell peppers by pressing gently into the stem part with your thumb and taking out the core with the help of a knife.
3. Stuff the peppers with the rice mixture, with the help of a teaspoon. Be careful not to stuff too much, leave a gap of 1 cm empty, and keep the stuffing loose.
4. Close the peppers with a slice of tomatoe and place them in a pot open side up. Keep them tight. If the pot is too big, use a smaller one.
5. Slice up the lemon and cut the rinds off. Place the lemons on the stuffed peppers.
6. Add the rest of the olive oil and 2 cups of hot water. Close the lid and cook for 15-20 minutes on low heat.
7. Let it brew and serve cold.

Any Questions?

• I've had a peep of other recipes. Some say you should put a cup of water in the stuffing, some say you should stuff the peppers with cooked rice. Don't believe them it's a lie! If you don't want your stuffings to be mushy follow this recipe.
• Again I've seen some recipes using 6-8 onions. Don't even think about it.
• As I've said before the ratio of rice to water is still the same: 1 cup of rice to 1 and a 1/2 cups of water. No more no less.
• When cooked there should be 2 cm of liquid in the pot beneath the peppers. If you cook too much and the water boils down, then the stuffing will dry out as it waits.

Easy Homemade Milk and Rice Desert: Sutlatch (Sütlaç)

Who doesn't like desert? Especially if it's light and easily digestible deserts are the happy ending to every meal. It's summer and choosing light deserts is a must if we want to go out and about in the summer heat. The classic Turkish desert Sütlaç is a perfectly light desert that mothers make for their children. It's totally easy to make, and so deserves to be "the first desert recipe" on this site. Come on and try this happy combination of milk rice and sugar!

Guaranteed Recipe for Rice Pilaf

Cooking rice pilaf seems to be very easy, but to get the desired texture, not too mushy, or to dry, is a task every cook must master. You can blame the rice, jasmin, baldo, calrose, basmati... whichever you choose, it isn't the rice's fault! If you know the job, it doesn't matter which rice you are cooking. "Try this recipe and get a guaranteed result for super pilaf."

Steamed String beans & Carrots (Dible)

All of you know string beans, we use it a lot in summer dishes. here's another recipe for string beans that's cooked very commenly in the Black Sea Region of Turkey, called "Dible". I hear you ask: "What is Dible?" the meaning of the word comes from when you slightly burn the food at the bottom of the pot. The result is similarly something like that, but ofcourse you don't get burnt food, as you can see in the picture. It's a light meal of any one of string beans, kale, cabbage, peas, or aubergine with rice. It's nutritioning and easy to cook, 20 minutes tops.

Ezo Gelin Soup With Vegetables (Red Lentil Soup)

When it’s time for Ezo Gelin Soup nothing can stand in the way. It is a warming tasty soup, which has an interesting story. This recipe is of a richened Ezo Gelin soup commonly served on the dinner tables of the East Black Sea region in Turkey.