Beef

Beef and Spinach Stuffed Peppers

by:
January 21, 2014
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

I took our favorite family recipe for Stuffed Peppers and upgraded it to include more veggies and greens into our kids diet. The dish is delicious and healthy, one pot meal and a perfect portion control. We like it so much that I make it for our friends get togethers and dinner parties. I'm proud to serve it family style on large plater. I place the dish in the middle of the table as it looks good enough to serve as a center piece. I serve it with home baked crusty bread to soak up the juices. I'm glad to be able to share it. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! —Shanna Z

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 8 medium to large red and yellow peppers (washed, cut 1/2 inch from the top of each pepper to form a lid, seeds cleaned)
  • 1 pound ground beef(preferably grass feed)
  • 3 ounces fresh baby spinach (minced in food processor)
  • 3/4 cup basmati rice (well rinsed under cold water)
  • 1 medium onion (cleaned and cut into cubes)
  • 1 large carrot (cleaned and grated on large grater)
  • 1 large parsnip (cleaned and grated on large grater)
  • 1/2 medium celery root (cleaned and grated on large grater)
  • 1 egg (well beaten)
  • 46 ounces can of tomato juice
  • salt to taste
  • black ground pepper to taste
  • 1 glove garlic minced
  • 3 tablespoons ghee(may need more for frying veggies)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (minsed) - optional
Directions
  1. In a large Dutch oven(big enough to hold all pepper snugly in upright position), on medium heat warm 1 tbsp ghee, add onions and sauté until tender and begin to color, about 4 minutes. Transfer to food processor and process until pureed, set aside to cool.
  2. In the same Dutch oven, on medium heat warm 2 tbsp ghee and add shredded carrots, parsnips and celery root. Sauté vegetables until tender (making sure not to burn). Add more ghee if needed and lower the heat to simmer, continue to cook veggies until caramelized, mixing from time to time, about 7-10 minutes.
  3. In a large bowl combine ground beef, egg, spinach, rice and garlic. Add cooled onions, salt and black ground pepper to taste and mix until well combined. Stuff each pepper with meat mixture, spreading evenly among peppers. Cover each pepper with it's own lid and carefully arrange them on top of vegetables in the Dutch oven, standing up.
  4. Carefully poor tomato juice to the tops of the pepper lids. Increase the heat to medium, cover the Dutch oven and cook until liquid starts to boil. Once its boiling, lower the heat to medium low, taste for seasoning and adjust salt level. Cover the Dutch oven and cook the peppers for 2.5 - 3 hours. During cooking, check on peppers from time to time to make sure the liquid does not reduce too much. Lift pepper lids, few times during checking and pour some of the liquid over the meat, place the lids back on the peppers and continue to cook in covered Dutch oven. At the end of the cooking time, the liquid will reduce and thicken a bit, peppers will become very tender and meat and rice will cook though out.
  5. When peppers are done, place them on large platter in upright position. While the Dutch oven is still on simmer, blend the liquid and veggies with immersion blender for smooth sauce. Pour the sauce onto the platter with peppers, sprinkle parsley and serve hot.

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