Small Peppers with Filling and Pumpkin Sauce

Ingredients

• 16 Baby peppers
• 700 g ground meat (mixed)
• 350 g basmati rice (cooked)
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 4 tbsp finely chopped parsley
• 2 tsp thyme (dried)
• Salt
• freshly ground pepper
• olive oil (cold pressed)
• 800 g muskmelon pumpkin
• 4 large ginger slices
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 chili pepper
• Salt

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Wash the peppers, cut off a lid, then remove skins and seeds, rinse, pat dry and set aside.

2. 2.

   Peel the garlic and crush it with a pinch of salt in a mortar. Mix the ground meat with the garlic, rice, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Slightly salt the inside of the peppers, fill them with the meat mixture, replace the lid and arrange tightly in an oiled baking dish. Bake at high temperature for 40 minutes until cooked.

3. 3.

   Meanwhile cut the pumpkin flesh into small pieces and put it in a pot. Cover the flesh almost with water, then add ginger slices, bay leaf, 2 tsp salt and the deseeded chili pepper. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and ginger slices. Lift the pumpkin pieces from the liquid with a slotted spoon, place them in a tall glass and puree finely. Add more cooking liquid by spoonfuls if needed. Mix in 1–2 tbsp olive oil and season with salt.

4. 4.

   Arrange the stuffed peppers with the pumpkin sauce on a plate and serve immediately.