Ingredients for Olive Oil Red Pepper Dolma (Zeytinyağlı Kırmızı Biber Dolması)
- 2 onions
- 4 red bell peppers
- 1 packet pine nuts
- 4 handfuls rice
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Half a packet currants
- 1 tea glass water (about 100 ml / 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp)
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 handful parsley
- 1 dessert spoon dried mint
- 1/2 dessert spoon + 1 teaspoon salt
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 2 cubanelle peppers
How to Make Olive Oil Red Pepper Dolma (Zeytinyağlı Kırmızı Biber Dolması)
In a pot, sauté 2 finely diced onions and 1 packet of pine nuts with a drizzle of oil. Add 4 handfuls of washed rice and sauté again. Stir in 1 tablespoon of sugar. Add half a packet of currants that have been rinsed and soaked in water, along with 1 tea glass of water (about 100 ml / 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) and 1 grated tomato. Reduce the heat and cook until the liquid is absorbed. Chop 1 handful of parsley and stir it in. Add 1 dessert spoon of dried mint and 1/2 dessert spoon of salt, and mix everything together. Fill the prepared mixture into 4 cleaned and washed red bell peppers that have been cut into thirds lengthwise. (If the red peppers are small, cut them in half.) Cut the cubanelle peppers into squares and use them as lids on top of the stuffed peppers. Place 1 grated tomato and 2–3 garlic cloves at the bottom of the pot. Arrange the dolma on top and add water halfway up. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water. Cook until a fork slides easily into the peppers. Enjoy!
Pro Tip
Don't worry if the red peppers are open at the bottom after cutting — since they sit upright in the pot, the filling won't fall out from below.About This Recipe
The first law protecting the olive tree was enacted by Solon, a statesman and poet who also laid the foundations of Athenian democracy. By the Hellenistic Period, the olive tree had become sacred. Those who cut one down were punished either by death or exile.
Olive oil fell out of favor in our country largely due to the Marshall Plan, a US-funded economic aid package introduced after World War II and implemented between 1948 and 1951. Sixteen countries, including Turkey, received economic development assistance under this plan. As the world's largest corn producer, the United States began exporting corn oil as a way to reduce its massive surplus. One of the conditions of Marshall Aid to Turkey was that Turkey would purchase corn oil from the US. It was around this time that the first margarine factory was established in Turkey. During the same period, hundreds of thousands of olive trees were uprooted in what amounted to a systematic destruction. Most of the olive oil produced from the remaining trees was purchased by the US in exchange for dollars, while corn oil was sold back in Turkish lira. The Turkish people were gradually steered away from olive oil and accustomed to corn oil and margarine. Olive oil was demonized in that era — claims were even fabricated such as "heating olive oil causes cancer." They went even further and commissioned a folk song: "I can't eat olive oil, oh my, I can't wear a printed dress, oh my…" — which was turned into one of the most popular folk songs in the country.
Our Red Pepper Dolma recipe is legendary — but what do you think of our Olive Oil Red Pepper Dolma recipe? Come on into the kitchen then. Happy cooking in advance!
