Moroccan Inspired Chicken and Rice Stuffed Peppers and Tomatoes
Yield: 4 to 6 people
Materials
- 4 medium Ontario Greenhouse peppers mix of yellow and red
- 4 medium Ontario Greenhouse beefsteak tomatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup finely diced cooking onions
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 cup short grain or long grain rice
- 2 tbsp dried mint
- 1 cup finely chopped Italian flat leaf parsley with stem
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup canned finely chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Prepare peppers by slicing the tops off a 1/4 inch thick. Then clean out peppers and set aside with their tops.
- Prepare tomatoes by slicing off the tops a 1/4 inch thick and set aside. Clean out the inside of the tomatoes. Finely chop the insides of tomatoes and reserve.
- In a large deep sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for 1-2 minutes or until soft and translucent.
- Add garlic, ginger, cinnamon, ground pepper and sauté for an additional minute.
- Add in tomato paste and cook stirring occasionally for 1 minute.
- Stir in the reserved chopped tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes or until tomatoes have broken down.
- Add in ground chicken and cook until browned, about 5-6 minutes.
- Stir in rice, 1/2 cup of canned tomatoes and 1/2 cup chicken broth. Cook for 5-6 minutes until mixture has slightly thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in dried mint, parsley and salt and set mixture aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix together remaining canned tomatoes, broth, paprika, cumin and lemon juice. Reserve 1/2 cup of this tomato sauce.
- Pour remaining tomato sauce on the bottom of a deep baking dish that will fit peppers and tomatoes. Now stuff peppers and tomatoes with the rice and meat mixture and arrange on top of tomato sauce.
- Pour the 1/2 cup reserved tomato sauce on top of the stuffed tomatoes and peppers. Place tops on peppers and tomatoes.
- Drizzle tops with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake in preheated oven for 45-50 mins depending on how large your peppers and tomatoes are. Remove foil from baking dish and increase oven to 400F. Continue baking for 20-25 minutes until tomatoes and peppers have charred and softened.
- Turn off oven, re-cover baking dish with foil and let stand for 15 minutes in warm oven. Transfer to a serving platter and drizzle with the sauce from the bottom of the pan. Serve warm with salad and crusty bread to mop up the flavourful juices.