Oven-Roasted Peppers Stuffed with Spiced Lamb and Bulgur
Sweet red bell peppers roasted until tender, filled with cumin- and cinnamon-scented lamb, bulgur and tomatoes, then finished with crumbled feta and fresh mint. A warm, hearty Mediterranean dinner straight from the oven.
- Total
- 75 min
- Prep 20 · Cook 50 · Rest 5
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Searing · Blooming spices
- No rush
- Savory
- Mediterranean
- Comforting
- Mild
- Oven
Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 200°C. Cut the tops off the red bell peppers and scoop out the seeds and white ribs, keeping the shells intact. Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic. Chop the fresh mint leaves.
~10 min
Cutting the tops off and hollowing the peppers creates a sturdy vessel that holds the filling during baking.
-
Bring 200 ml water to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in the bulgur and a pinch of the salt, cover, and remove from the heat. Let it stand until the water is absorbed and the grains are tender, about 15 minutes.
~15 min
Covering the bulgur and letting it stand allows residual heat and steam to hydrate the grains evenly without overcooking.
-
While step 2 waits
While the bulgur stands, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the lamb mince and cook, breaking it up, until browned and no pink remains, about 6 minutes.
~6 min
Browning the lamb in a hot skillet develops rich flavor through the Maillard reaction and renders excess fat.
Searing Get the pan hot before adding the lamb, and leave it undisturbed for a minute to develop a brown crust. Don't crowd the pan or the meat will steam instead of sear.
-
Add the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil, the onion and garlic to the skillet and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in the ground cumin and ground cinnamon and cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the canned chopped tomatoes, the remaining salt and the black pepper, then fold in the cooked bulgur and simmer until thick, about 5 minutes.
~9 min
Toasting the spices in hot oil blooms their fat-soluble flavor compounds, while simmering thickens the filling so it won't make the peppers soggy.
Toasting the ground cumin and ground cinnamon in the hot oil for 30 seconds before adding the tomatoes blooms their oils and gives the filling a deeper, warmer flavor.
Blooming spices Cook ground spices in hot oil for just 30 seconds until fragrant; they burn quickly and turn bitter. Stir constantly and add the tomatoes right after to stop the cooking.
-
Spoon the lamb and bulgur filling into the pepper shells and set them in a baking dish. Bake until the peppers are tender and the tops are lightly crisp, 25 to 30 minutes.
~30 min
Baking at high heat tenderizes the peppers and lightly crisps the filling's top without drying out the interior.
If the peppers wobble in the dish, slice a thin sliver off the base so they sit flat and the filling stays put.
-
Crumble the feta over the hot peppers and scatter with the chopped fresh mint. Let them rest 5 minutes before serving.
~5 min