Stuffed Peppers / Speca Te Mbushur
These stuffed peppers, or as you say in Albanian, "Speca te bushun", are filled with a mixture of ground beef and rice. It's a family favorite and traditional dish that is super comforting. This recipe that my mother adapted from her mother, has been modified to her taste and style through the years. Serve them with feta cheese and fresh bread and enjoy this baked perfection.
Ingredients:
For the Stuffed Peppers:
3 cups water
1 cup of white basmati rice (uncooked)
6 large bell peppers
2 medium white onions
1.5 lb ground beef (85% lean)
½ teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vegeta seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons ketchup
For the Gravy:
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
2 tablespoons of flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon paprika
1 ½ cups of water
Directions:
1. In a pot, put 3 cups of water to boil for your rice. When the water comes to a boil, add in your rice. Let it boil through for about 15 minutes.
2. While your water is boiling, heat up a deep cooking pan. Add in ground beef and cook all the way through (about 10-15 min)
3. While the beef is cooking, finely chop your onions. Add the onions to the beef while the beef is in the cooking process. Cook through until onions have caramelized.
4. When the beef is cooked all the way through, reduce your heat to low, add in salt, pepper, and vegeta. After all is mixed in, turn off the heat completely and add in paprika and ketchup and stir.
5. Drain the rice, add it to your ground beef. Mix well and take off of the stove.
6. Assemble your peppers for filling up. Cut the tops off of the bell peppers and rinse them under cold water; remove seeds and cut away the membranes,
7. Take a spoon and start scooping up the beef and rice mixture, and fill your peppers. After you filled them, place them aside and preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
8. While your oven is preheating, heat up a medium saucepan for the gravy. Place butter into saucepan and melt all the way through. Add in your flour and mix well to create a rue. After it comes together, sprinkle in the salt and paprika. Then, while stirring, gradually add in your water. Mix for about 1 minute
9. Pour your gravy onto your dish of peppers. DO NOT pour directly on the peppers but only on the bottom.
10. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and put in the oven for 1 hour.
11. Remove from and let them cool down for 10 minutes up. Then, put the pepper on a plate and scoop up some gravy from the bottom of the pan over the top of each pepper. Enjoy!
