Kıymalı Biber Dolması

Peel the onions and grate them into a bowl using the regular side of the grater.

Grate the tomato into the same bowl. There is no need to peel the tomato as when you grate them the skin will be left behind which you can discard.

Wash the rice and add it to the bowl along with the mince, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper and 1 Tbsp tomato paste.

Mix together with your hands and set aside.

Cut around the top of the capsicums and remove the stalks and as much of the membrane as you can. Wash and drain.

Fill each capsicum with the rice and meat mixture to about level to the top. Don't pack the mixture in, a gentle fill is enough.

Place the filled capsicums into a pot so that they are all standing up. If the pot is too big you can fill the void with a potato. They should fit snugly into the pot.

Mix the remaining 1 Tbsp of tomato paste with 1 tsp of salt and 1 cup of water and pour this into the pot. Top with more water until it reaches a level 1cm below the tops of the capsicums.

Put the lid on the pot and bring slowly to the boil. 

Once the liquid is boiling turn the temperature down and simmer gently until the rice is cooked. The rice grains will poke out from the mince and it is easy to get some grains and test if they are soft.

Remove the pot from the heat and tilt the lid so that it is open a tiny bit, leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Serve hot with some of the cooking liquid and fresh bread.

The capsicums that are used in Turkey for this meal have a very thin skin, it is not that easy to this variety outside Turkey so look for the smallest green capsicum you can get or grow a couple of bushes and pick them when they are small until you have enough. Banana peppers or green Bull Horn peppers also work but they will have to cook lying down.