Greek Style Beef Minced Stuffed Peppers

You can prepare parts of this recipe ahead of time, and you can even freeze leftover stuffed peppers too! It can be served as a main course or as a side dish. Anyone will love these Greek-style minced stuffed peppers with a wonderful herby seasoned meat mixture with chickpeas and rice. At your local butchers, you can request to make certain meat cuts that you don't see displayed. Most online butchers will also let you make requests when you place orders online. Be sure to drop it in the request box section if you have certain preference for the meat. South Australia's online butchers Meat At The Mount offers a great selection of Mince and cater to special custom cuts you may require. Order your meat essentials here and get in touch with us for any requests.

15 mins
50 mins
Serves 6
Gluten Free

Ingredients

Greek extra virgin olive oil (I used Private Reserve EVOO)
1 small yellow onion, chopped
½ lb ground beef
Kosher salt + black pepper
1 tsp ground allspice
2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
1 cup cooked or canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped ( about 1 cup packed fresh parsley. Or a mixture of chopped fresh parsley and fresh dill)
1 cup white rice, soaked in water for 2o to 30 minutes, then drained
¾ tsp hot or sweet paprika
¼ cup tomato sauce
2 ¼ cup water
6 bell peppers, any colors, tops removed and cored
¾ cup chicken broth (or water)

Method

Cook the meat & chickpeas. In a medium pot, heat 1 tbsp of extra virgin oil and saute minced onions until golden. Now add the meat and cook over medium-high heat until deeply browned. Season using salt, pepper, allspice, minced garlic (or garlic powder). Add the chickpeas and cook briefly.
Add rice. Add the parsley, rice (after soaking in water and drained), paprika, and tomato sauce. Stir to combine. Add the water and bring to a high simmer until the liquid has reduced by half. Then turn the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.
Grill the peppers. While the rice is cooking, heat a grill or indoor griddle or skillet over medium-high. Grill the bell peppers for 10-15 minutes, covered, and turning over as needed so that the peppers will soften and gain some color. Remove from heat and set aside to cool briefly.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Assemble stuffed peppers. Assemble the bell peppers open-side up in a baking dish filled with ¾ cup broth or water. Fill each of the bell peppers with the the cooked stuffing mixture of meat, rice and chickpeas.
Cover and bake. Cover the baking dish with foil (making sure the foil does not touch the stuffed peppers) and place the dish on the middle rack of your heated oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and garnish with parsley