Hashwe (arabian Stuffed Vegetables)

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup long-grain rice
• 2 -3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 lb lamb, finely ground
• 1/2 lb beef, finely ground
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 4 medium tomatoes, tops cut off and hollowed for stuffing
• 6 medium zucchini, cut into 3-inch lengths, hollowed out with a corer, placed on end for stuffing
• 4 medium bell peppers, tops cut off and cored and seeded for stuffing
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup canned tomato sauce
• 1 lemon, juice of

Recipe

• 1 in a 2-quart covered saucepan bring 2 cups of water to boil. add the rice, return to the boil, cover, and turn off the heat. let stand for 5 minutes. drain and cool before proceeding with the recipe.
• 2 mix cooked rice thoroughly with the stuffing ingredients.
• 3 melt butter in skillet over medium high heat and saute garlic for a few minutes.
• 4 add meat with spices and cook until browned.
• 5 fill the vegetables loosely with the rice and meat mixture. the rice will expand during cooking, so do not pack; leave room at the top or the sides.
• 6 arrange the vegetables in a covered, deep skillet.
• 7 simmer, covered, along with the water, tomato sauce, and lemon juice on low heat (30 minutes for bell peppers and zucchini; 20 minutes for tomatoes).
• 8 check sauce levels occasionally to see that it is not evaporating. if it gets low, add more hot water, tomato sauce and lemon as necessary.