A pot full of sweet red peppers, stuffed with a delicious mixture of rice, herbs, lentils, and spices on a cold fall day. What could be better than that?
If you have acquired the initial skills of basic stuffed veggies, you will be soon able to stuff almost any vegetable.
The basic filling of Mediterranean-style stuffed vegetables contains half-cooked rice, lots of herbs, cooked black lentils, spices such as smoked paprika, cinnamon, white pepper, cumin, and chili.
The sauce is a velvety combination of tomato paste, fresh tomatoes, lots of garlic, onions, and water.
The best vegetables for stuffing are those that have a built-in “pocket”—like peppers, pumpkin, and squash. But almost any vegetable can be stuffed.
Try emptying ripe tomatoes, zucchini, or eggplant and filling them with the rice mixture. It is possible and recommended to also stuff cabbage leaves, vine leaves, and even white onions.
Each vegetable requires a different cooking time, but the vegetables can be cooked together in a large pot over low heat for many hours. Stuffed zucchini will be especially tasty after a short time in a hot oven.
