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Stuffed Peppers is a typical traditional Albanian summer dish (speca te mbushura). Most Mediterranean countries cook a version of stuffed peppers with minced meat or ground beef and rice. Since living in Miami, I’ve made friends from around the world and I have tried so many other versions of this dish. I’ve tried the vegetarian version, I’ve tried them filled with mashed potatoes, I’ve had the filled cheese version, the ‘chille relleno’ version etc. The spices vary by country & region too so this is one of the most versatile dishes I have ever seen so far. Below I’ll share the recipe we cooked in my family, but I hope with time I’ll be able to cook several other versions of this dish.
RECIPE NOTES
1. BELL PEPPER SIZE
Serving size is difficult to calculate. The biggest factor is bell pepper size. In most Mediterranean countries, peppers are not too big so you can fill a whole tray with same stuffing recipe as below and you would need about 20 peppers. Here in United States bell peppers are huge, I mean sometimes I have to cut one in half because I can’t eat one just on my own. The pictures you see of this recipe are with bell peppers and I handpicked them as small as I could get them. That’s why the serving size will be anywhere from half a pepper to 2 peppers per person. 2. BAKING TIME
The size of the bell peppers will affect baking time as well. Using what I consider small size bell peppers in US (actual normal size in Mediterranean), it took me about 50 minutes of baking time. Adjust that time accordingly. Bigger peppers will need longer baking time so the stuffing can be well cooked.
RECIPE NOTES
1. BELL PEPPER SIZE
Serving size is difficult to calculate. The biggest factor is bell pepper size. In most Mediterranean countries, peppers are not too big so you can fill a whole tray with same stuffing recipe as below and you would need about 20 peppers. Here in United States bell peppers are huge, I mean sometimes I have to cut one in half because I can’t eat one just on my own. The pictures you see of this recipe are with bell peppers and I handpicked them as small as I could get them. That’s why the serving size will be anywhere from half a pepper to 2 peppers per person. 2. BAKING TIME
The size of the bell peppers will affect baking time as well. Using what I consider small size bell peppers in US (actual normal size in Mediterranean), it took me about 50 minutes of baking time. Adjust that time accordingly. Bigger peppers will need longer baking time so the stuffing can be well cooked.