Iranian stuffed peppers

Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients:

2 tb Butter or margarine
1 lg Onion chopped
1/2 lb Ground lean beef or lamb
1 cn Tomato sauce (8 oz.) Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 ts Sugar Grated peel of 1 lemon
3 tb Lemon juice
1 c White rice
1 1/2 c Beef or chicken broth
1 c Parsley fresh chopped
1 c Green onions chopped
2 tb Dill weed dried
1 ts Tarragon dried crushed
1 ts Mint dried crushed
6 lg Green or red bell peppers
1 c Beef broth
2 tb Butter or margarine

Instructions:

Melt 2 tb. butter or margarine in a large saucepan. Add onion and saute until tender. Add meat and cook until browned and crumbly. Add half the tomato sauce salt and black pepper. Cook 1 minute. Add sugar lemon peel lemon juice and rice. Cook and stir until rice glistens. Add 1 1/2 cups broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer over low heat 10 minutes or until liquid is almost absorbed. Stir in parsley green onions dill tarragon and mint and cook for 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 350F. Cut a thin slice from stem end of each pepper; reserve to use as lids. Remove seeds and white membranes from peppers. Place peppers in a large baking pan. Spoon meat mixture into peppers. Combine remaining ingredients including remaining tomato sauce in a small saucepan. Heat until butter or margarine melts. Pour over stuffed peppers and cover with reserved lids. Cover baking pan with foil. Bake 1 hour or until peppers are tender and filling is done. ** Stuffed Cabbage: Cook 1 whole medium cabbage in boiling water 8-10 minutes depending on size. Drain and cool. Separate leaves and place 1 tbs. filling on each leaf. Roll up tucking in edges. Place cabbage rolls in a large baking pan making a single layer. Continue with recipe. ** Stuffed Tomatoes: Substitute 8 large tomatoes for the green peppers. Cut a thin slice from each stem end. Scoop out pulp and add to meat mixture. Heat 5 minutes before stuffing tomatoes. Continue with recipe. ** Stuffed Eggplant: Substitute 8 long Japanese eggplants for the green peppers. Slit each eggplant lengthwise without cutting all the way through. Heat 1/2 cup vegetable oil in a large skillet. Cook each eggplant in hot oil until blistered on all sides. Remove from skillet drain on paper towels and let cool. Stuff with meat mixture. Continue with recipe. Source: Middle Eastern Cooking by Rose Dosti.