Cypriot-Style Pork & Rice-Stuffed Vegetables

A beloved Cypriot family classic, it can feature tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and onions generously stuffed with a fragrant mixture of pork, rice and herbs. Served with a crisp salad, this dish is even better the next day.

For the Vegetables:

Cut the tops off tomatoes and peppers (keep the tops for later), scoop out the insides and save for filling. Halve the zucchini, remove the insides, but keep the ends intact. Boil the onion briefly to loosen layers for stuffing.

For the Filling:

1. Chop the onions and fry them in a pan with oil. 
2. Before they brown add the minced meat and cook till it turns white.
3. Add the Gratsi Red Wine and let it evaporate.
4. Blend the tomatoes add it to the pan and mix well.
5. When the sauce boils season with salt and pepper.
6. Remove from heat and add the rice. Let the rice soak a bit in the hot sauce to soften.
7. Add the parsley, fresh peppermint, dried peppermint, lemon and mix.

For the Stuffing/ Cooking:

1. Stuff all of the vegetables till full and cover with their cut part.
2. Put them in an oven pan and make sure that the vegetables touch each other so they won’t fall.
3. Drizzle olive oil on top and add extra water half their size for moisture.
4. Cover with foil and add them to a preheated oven of 190’ degrees celsius. Leave for 1 hour and remove the foil.

Make sure to baste it once in a while with its own juice.
Serve hot with a salad.