VEGETABLES STUFFED WITH RICE
I make these stuffed vegetables for summer picnics, backyard BBQ's and for pot luck dinners. They are healthy and not too difficult to make. For this recipe I used eggplants, tomatoes and peppers. You could also use, zucchini and onion (practically anything that can be hollowed out ). Choose small and tender vegetables if you can. They cook faster.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup currents
1/4 cup pignoli nuts
1 large onion chopped
1 tsps allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dried mint
1/3 cup of olive oil
2 cups of water
1 cup of rice
salt and pepper to taste
To prepare the vegetables:
For eggplants: Cut eggplants in half. Hollow out the centers using a scooper or a spoon (grapefruit spoon works well) .
For peppers: cut the tops off just underneath the stems (save them for later use) rinse them under the sink to rid them from the seeds.
For tomatoes: same as above. Save the tops for caps for later use. (Chop the fleshy part of the tomato to mix in with rice).
In a pot saute chopped onions, pignoli nuts and currents in 1 cup olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add rice, spices, herbs (salt and pepper) and 1 cup of water. Cook until all the water is absorbed (rice will be half cooked). Let it cool and spoon loosely to fill the vegetables.
Arrange filled vegetables in a deep pot, touching each other closely (they'll cook better) and add reserved water and oil. Close lid and cook for 20-25 minutes or until peppers are soft.
