Stuffed Peppers in Tomato Sauce: Food for Thought Syria
A delicious Syrian inspired dish of sweet peppers stuffed with spiced rice and beans and cooked in a sharp tomato sauce. It’s simmered on the stove top for speed, but you can cook it in the oven instead.
This recipe for a vegetarian version of Syrian stuffed peppers in tomato sauce is the next in my Flavours of the Middle East series. In some small way, it’s an acknowledgment that there is a lot more to Syria than the dreadful civil war that’s been raging there for far too long. I’m a food blogger, so it’s the delicious Syrian cuisine I’ve chosen to highlight.
Stuffed Peppers
When I was a student in Lyon, I had a Syrian boyfriend. He was a brilliant cook and in his small room in the halls of residence, he used to cook up veritable feasts for me and all his friends. I don’t ever remember him cooking stuffed peppers, but it was a long time ago and my memory for specifics is a little hazy.
This recipe for stuffed peppers is Syrian in inspiration rather than actuality. It’s a vegan spin on koosa mahshi, stuffed Syrian summer squash. I’ve used small red adzuki beans to replace the traditional lamb mince in this particular version, but I often use lentils instead.
Actually, if you look closely at the photos, you’ll see there aren’t any beans present at all. I forgot to add them and only noticed when the dish was cooked. I ended up scattering them over the contents of the pan and cooking it a little longer. Do as I say, not as I do!
I cook these stuffed peppers on the stove top for speed and saving pennies rather than in the oven. This is how food would have been traditionally prepared in the Middle East and I suspect still mostly is. You can, of course, cook them in the oven if you prefer.
I’ve used romano red pepper rather than bell peppers as those are what I had in at the time, but either work well. And you can, of course, use whatever colour peppers you like.
The sweet red peppers contrast well with the sharp tomato sauce and the spicy filling soaks everything up to make a most delicious and satisfying meal. Serve with your greens of choice.
I also have an actual stuffed squash recipe, if you’re interested.
Syrian Inspired Tomato Sauce
Tomato sauce is a wonderful thing. They use it a lot in Middle Eastern cuisine. I made this one with tinned tomatoes rather than fresh, mostly because fresh tomatoes aren’t yet in season here in the UK. And I always have a tin of tomatoes in the store cupboard.
I’ve used red wine in this recipe, which is definitely not a Syrian thing to do. Traditionally, they add lemon juice at the end of cooking. Sometimes I’ll do this and sometimes I’ll add a little pomegranate syrup instead.
Occasionally, I make the tomato sauce with carrots and if I’m using it for other purposes, with red peppers too. Just whiz them up in a blender with the tin of tomatoes, some garlic and maybe chilli, then add this to a pan of sweetly fried and spiced onions. This gives a lovely vibrancy to the sauce as well as extra veg bonus points.
As an alternative to the stuffed peppers, simmer a few veggie meatballs in the sauce. Then serve on a bed of fruity and nutty rice pilaf.
Food for Thought Syria
There are many terrible conflicts going on around the world. Most of us feel completely impotent to do anything about it. Mandy over at Sneaky Veg and Lisa from Lovely Appetite decided to do their bit – Food for Thought.
Over the next few months, they are going to be posting recipes from various war-torn countries with a donation link to Médicins San Frontières (MSF). Anyone can join in and I’ve decided to do so this month with my stuffed red peppers.
Around 4.8 million have fled Syria since the civil war started in 2011 and another 6.5 million have been internally displaced. MSF operates medical facilities where it can in Syria and also supports many others. It also distributes food. Click on the Médecins Sans Frontières link to find out more about the crucial work they are doing in Syria.
If you’d like to donate, Mandy has set up a donation page here.
Other Middle Eastern Meals You Might Like
- Barley bowl with spiced aubergine, chickpeas & tomatoes
- Best chickpea salad (balela)
- Chocolate shakshuka with goat’s cheese
- Cypriot vegetable stew
- Egyptian falafel
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these stuffed peppers in tomato sauce, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’d like more vegan recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Syrian Stuffed Peppers in Tomato Sauce. PIN IT.
Stuffed Peppers – The Recipe
Syrian Stuffed Peppers in Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 125 g brown basmati rice soaked, washed and drained
- 2 cardamom pods
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 400 g tinned adzuki beans drained and rinsed – or 125g dried and then cooked
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- grating of nutmeg
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- good grinding of black pepper
- 4 sprig fresh parsley finely chopped
- 4 sprigs mint finely chopped
- 2 large sweet peppers halved, in any way you like and deseeded (I used romano red peppers)
Tomato Sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 200 ml red wine
- 200 ml water
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 tsp Aleppo chilli flakes (pul biber) (or swap for smoked paprika)
Instructions
- In a medium sized pan, fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil over a gentle heat for around five minutes, until translucent.2 tbsp olive oil, 1 onion, 1 clove garlic
- Add the rice and cardamom pods, then stir to coat the grains. Cook for 1-2 minutes.125 g brown basmati rice, 2 cardamom pods
- Add the ¼ tsp salt, pepper and spices then stir.½ tsp ground cumin, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp sea salt, good grinding of black pepper, grating of nutmeg
- Cover the rice with twice it's volume of water. Bring to the boil and cover and simmer for 20 mins. Turn the heat off, add the beans and herbs, then leave covered to steam for a further 10 minutes. Stir and fluff up with a fork.400 g tinned adzuki beans, 4 sprig fresh parsley, 4 sprigs mint
- Pile the rice onto or into the peppers.2 large sweet peppers
- Lay the stuffed peppers in the pan of tomato sauce. Bring the to a simmer then cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the peppers are soft and the sauce is thick.
- Serve with any remaining rice mixture and greens of choice.
Tomato Sauce
- In a large lidded frying pan, fry the onion and garlic in olive oil over a gentle heat for five minutes or so until translucent.1 tbsp olive oil, 1 onion, 1 clove garlic
- Add the tomatoes. Rinse the tin out with the wine and water and stir in with the chilli and pinch of salt.400 g tinned chopped tomatoes, 200 ml red wine, 200 ml water, 1 pinch sea salt, 1 tsp Aleppo chilli flakes (pul biber)
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
These Syrian stuffed red peppers go to Jac at Tinned Tomatoes for Meat Free Mondays.
What a fantastic stuffed red peppers recipe! I have some adzuki beans sprouting so this is the perfect way to use them. I love the balance of sweet and spicy flavours. Thank you for raising awareness about what is happening in Syria too, it’s awful some of the conflicts going on in the world.
Sprouted adzuki beans sound perfect and super healthy too. Sadly, we don’t hear much in the news about Syria these days, so it’s hard to know quite what’s going on there.
This is such a wonderful Syrian inspired dish! I love making stuffed peppers and this recipe turned out great! Thank you for also shining some light on what has been happening with Syria for so long. It truly is heartbreaking.
Yum! I love stuffed peppers! This has so many great flavors and it made the perfect dinner!
These stuffed peppers were so delicious! I will make this recipe again! Thank you!
They’re a regular on our dinner table. So pleased you liked them too and thanks for letting us know.
This looks soooo gooood! I love filled peppers but have never tried this vegetarian version with rice and adzuki beans. Definitely going to give this a go, thank you so much for the recipe!
Rice and beans are such a good match. We really like these peppers Natalia. Hope you do too.
Smashing recipe, Choclette – I do love stuffed peppers… especially Romano peppers.
I also love using food to raise awareness of people living in and fleeing from conflict zones around the world – it puts such a human face on things, doesn’t it? I’m a firm believer in the more people know and understand, the less likely they are to be prejudiced against others (although this doesn’t hold true for everyone, of course).
Because I’ve been sick for so long, I feel completely out of the loop with my fellow bloggers but as soon as I’m able to, I’ll be joining in with Food For Thought. Not least because one of my uncle’s friends is a doctor with MSF, and I know not only what he has to deal with in terms of his patients but also in terms of threats upon his and his colleagues’ lives.
If we all do even just a little bit, I truly believe we can make a difference to many, so I am more than happy to support this initiative! And thank you for bringing this to people’s attention! xx
Thanks Nico, it’s a gentle initiative that seems appropriate for food bloggers. And I absolutely agree with you, keep raising that awareness. I’m so full of admiration for those working for MSF and similar organisations and it’s just terrible that they are threatened when they are there purely to help.
Very informative recipe form me. I never seen such things in my life like stuffed red peppers but we have tried so many recipes of green peppers. It’s new for me.
Thank you, but I find it very hard to imagine you’ve not come across stuffed red peppers before.
I think Cous Cous instead of rice might be nice.
I think it would be delicious with couscous and it would cut down the cooking time too.
These stuffed pepper sounds amazing and full of flavour. So impressed that you are highlighting the Syrian situation.
I do love stuffed vegetables and these are rather good ones, even though I did leave out the beans – oops!
What a lovely recipe, I can almost taste it, and food for thought is a really nice idea – every little bit makes a difference.
Thanks Amber. I have a passion for stuffed vegetables, but rarely make them, so this was a good excuse to pull my finger out.
What a beautiful and such a shocking tragedy for everyone in Syria
Thanks Jo. Yes, the Syrian situation is truly awful.
Thanks so much for joining in with Food for Thought – it means a lot to us! Your recipe looks absolutely delicious. Always on the look out for new vegan meals so will add this to the meal plan.
Thanks Mandy, you’re doing a really good thing. Do let me know when your next country is up.
That sounds and looks absolutely delicious. It is so sad what the Syrians are going through at home and those travelling the world trying to put down roots. So sad. Shared.
Thanks Jac. It’s just awful and I can’t believe it’s been going on for such a long time with no resolution.
It’s such a tragedy what is happening in Syria and brilliant that you are raising awareness for it. I love the idea of this stuffed pepper recipe full of so many lovely flavours and this is the perfect time of year to be enjoying it.
Thanks Laura. Yes it is an absolute tragedy and hard to believe it can have been going on for so long.
I love stuffed peppers! Have never seen red wine in tin over here…How many mls are 1/2tin?
Hi Angie. No, I’ve never seen red wine in a tin either. I meant 1/2 a tinned tomatoes tin – so 200ml (more or less). I’ll try and clarify.