This recipe for Stuffed Peppers comes from a little known book that my husband gave me shortly after we were married 40 years ago. Excuse me for a minute…it’s a little frightening to see that in print. Really? 40 years? Okay, I’m recovered…now back to the meat of the matter…see, I haven’t lost my sense of humor.
The book was How To Cook Like A Jewish Mother by June Roth. At the time we had just moved into our new apartment, I was doing a teaching internship, and he was going to school during the day, and working at night. We were living in Florida far from both our families, and were very young. When I look back now it’s almost as if we were playing house.
Every Friday night I would prepare a special dinner in the Jewish tradition of welcoming the Sabbath. It’s not that my husband and I were so religiously observant because we weren’t. For me, it was a way of feeling closer to home by recreating that special weekly dinner I grew up with for so many years.
The meal was usually roasted chicken and a noodle kugel or roasted potatoes. My main source of recipes at that time, especially for Jewish dishes, was a long distance call to my mother.
My husband began giving me a small gift at these Friday night dinners and called it a Shabbos (Yiddish for Sabbath ) gift. These Sabbath gifts could be anything from a candle to a cookbook, not extravagant, but a lovely little ritual that I grew to look forward to.
Among those Sabbath gifts was this cookbook.
As you can see, it is well worn and has been well used over the years. I grew to really appreciate it even more many years later when my mother was no longer a phone call away. I have referred to it many times for dishes similar to what I remember mom making. The Stuffed Peppers pictured above is one such dish.
On the opening page of the book is a humorous description of what a Jewish mother is. I think from what I observed with my own mother, and as I look back on my own mothering there’s a lot of truth to these words…
“Scratch a Jewish mother and you will find a tiger underneath! She is fiercely protective of her family and their welfare. She forages the best food for them, and prepares it with traditional skills. She maketh them to dine well at her table. She provideth loving food for their bodies, and books of culture for their minds. She proddeth her children through schools, while binding them to their heritage with hoops of homemade noodles. She careth for their ills with pots of rich chicken soup, and chaseth away their troubles with strudel and blintzes. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow her family all the days of her life, as she strives to bring forth sustenance from her bountiful table.”
Stuffed Peppers ( adapted from How to Cook Like a Jewish Mother, June Roth)
Serves 8
4 to 6 large green peppers
2 pounds ground lean beef (I prefer to use ground chuck, 85/15)
1 cup cooked rice (can substitute cooked brown rice)
2 eggs
1 medium onion, finely minced
½ cup tomato puree
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1- 28- ounce can whole tomatoes
Juice of 2 lemons
4 tablespoons brown sugar
½ cup seedless raisins
Extra rice for serving
Wash green peppers and cut in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and membranes. Combine ground beef, cooked rice, egg, minced onion, and tomato puree. Season with salt and pepper.
Stuff halves of peppers with this mixture.
In a Dutch oven, combine the tomatoes with the lemon juice, brown sugar, and raisins. Place stuffed peppers in this sauce.
Cover tightly and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour til beef is cooked thoroughly, basting occasionally with sauce, and tasting to see if you need to add more lemon juice or sugar to the sweet-sour sauce.
Serve over rice with extra sauce on top.
This is even better reheated the next day!