Mahshi filfil (Egyptian stuffed capsicum)

The roots of stuffed vegetables apparently come from the Ottomans who historically ruled parts of the Middle East over centuries. This is my grandmother’s recipe and you can easily swap out the capsicums with baby eggplant and zucchini.

Credit: Danielle Abou Karam

• serves

  6

• prep

  45 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

There are so many varieties of ‘mahshi’ (stuffed) vegetables made either with or without meat. Depending on where the recipe derives from the Middle East, the spices and the use of tomato versus olive oil-based sauces can also differ.

Ingredients

• 200 g (1 cup) short-grain rice
• 1 large tomato
• ¾ cup coriander leaves and stems
• ¾ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
• ⅓ cup dill fronds
• 1 large onion, quartered  
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3 tsp baharat
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 200 g fatty minced beef or lamb meat
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 12 bullhorn capsicums (or 8-10 small capsicums), stalks and seeds removed
• 300 ml passata
• 300 ml vegetable stock

Standing time: 30 minutes

Instructions

1. Soak the rice in lightly salted water for 30 minutes, then drain, rinse and set aside.
2. Halve the tomato, then squeeze out the pulp and discard. Place the tomato, coriander, parsley, dill, onion and garlic in a food processor and blitz until they finely chopped but not pureed. Transfer to a large bowl, add the rice, baharat, cumin, salt, pepper, mince and olive oil. Use your hands to mix well.  
3. Spoon the rice mixture into trimmed and seeded capsicums, leaving about 1 cm from the top. Arrange the stuffed capsicums in a large wide heavy-based saucepan.  
4. Place the passata, stock and 250 ml (1 cup) water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and season with salt if needed.
5. Gently spoon enough of the hot sauce over the stuffed capsicums and bring to the boil over medium heat. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 50 minutes or until the rice is tender and the sauce has slightly thickened. Rest for 10 minutes, then serve.

 

Photography by Danielle Abou Karam.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

There are so many varieties of ‘mahshi’ (stuffed) vegetables made either with or without meat. Depending on where the recipe derives from the Middle East, the spices and the use of tomato versus olive oil-based sauces can also differ.