Biber Dolması – Turkish Stuffed Peppers with Wholegrain Rice

Cooking is the ultimate confidence test, right? When we follow a recipe and make a new dish, often it’s fuelled with fear and failure, even before we’ve bought the first ingredient! Often an analogy for life’s challenges – attempting new things, starting a new job, making new friends can feel daunting at first, mostly because we’re caught up on outcomes. 

Cooking isn’t about perfection. As you fill each pepper by hand, allow yourself to slow down and let go of the need to get it “right.” Confidence is quietly built through trust, patience, and presence in the process.

This is a deliciously simple dish traditionally made with white long-grain rice. Wholegrain rice makes it just as tasty, more nourishing, and more filling.

Ingredients (serves 6)

2 each of red, green, and yellow bell peppers
500g wholegrain rice, washed until the water runs clear
A handful of mint leaves, finely chopped
Juice of 2 lemons
Extra virgin olive oil
1 or 2 firm red tomatoes, diced with seeds removed
2 tbsp tomato paste
Approx. 1 litre vegetable stock, a little for the mixture and the rest for cooking
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

In a large bowl, mix the washed rice together with the chopped mint, lemon juice, 1 to 2 tbsp olive oil, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste. Add only just enough stock to make a slightly wet but not runny mixture that you can use to stuff the peppers.

Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds. Stuff each pepper, leaving half a centimetre gap from the top to allow the rice to expand while cooking.

As you fill each pepper, ask yourself:
Where in my life am I holding back because I’m too attached to the outcome?

Place the tops back on the peppers. Drizzle olive oil into the base of a large pan, enough to hold the peppers upright and close together. Pack the peppers in and pour in the stock, enough to reach two-thirds of the way up the peppers. Simmer gently on a low heat with the lid on until the rice is cooked.

Lift the peppers carefully from the pot using two spoons and transfer to a serving plate. Serve with Turkish or Greek-style yoghurt.

Chef’s tip: This mixture can also be used to fill hollowed courgettes or aubergines.

Hulya’s bio:

Hulya Erdal is a professional chef, culinary educator, and self-discovery coach guiding women to reconnect with their authentic self through the power of cooking. Through her work, she uses food as a practical and soulful tool for self-trust, reflection, and personal transformation.

Connect with her at hulya@therecipeforlife.com  / www.therecipeforlife.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madebythechef  / https://www.instagram.com/therecipeforlife

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hulyaerdal/