Step 1

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Step 2

Start by washing and preparing your vegetables

Step 3

Hollow out your peppers by removing seeds and ribbing.  Keep lids to the side. Place peppers and lids in a bowl and cover with boiling water for approximately 10 minutes.  This will help soften the vegetables

Step 4

Prepare tomatoes by cutting off lids and scooping out the insides.  Blend the tomato you have scooped out, measure, and set aside.  Add enough crushed tomatoes (from a can) to make 1 1/2 cups.

Step 5

Prepare zucchini.  Cut off the stem ends and then with a small pairing knife cut out a pyramid shaped piece of zucchini.  These will act as “stoppers” to keep the filling from falling out.  Set aside.  With a spoon or butter knife or apple corer, begin to carefully cut through the zucchini, being careful not to pierce and break the skin.  (If you do…it’s really not the end of the world).  Follow the same procedure for the eggplant.  Place the zucchini and eggplant shells in a bowl, cover with boiling water for approximately 10 minutes.

Step 6

Finely chop the zucchini and eggplant innards, and place in a bowl. Grate 1 medium size carrot, add to the bowl and measure everything.  You will need a total of 2 cups.  If you fall short (which you likely will), shred some zucchini and carrots until you reach the desired amount of 2 cups.

Step 7

To prepare filling, heat olive oil in a large pot and add onion.  Cook over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes and until the onion is softened, being careful not to burn it.

Step 8

Combine the parsley, garlic, green onions, dill, paprika, shredded and chopped zucchini/eggplant/carrots, crushed tomatoes, rice, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Stir well to combine, add to the pot with onions and cook until just heated through.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Step 9

Begin stuffing vegetables with filling. Be careful not to pack the filling in too tightly or to the top, and ensure that there is some liquid from the filling added to each vegetable stuffed.  When stuffing tomatoes, add 1/2 teaspoon white sugar to the bottom of each tomato shell before stuffing it.  According to our folks, this is essential when the tomatoes are not fresh from the garden.

Step 10

Once the vegetables are stuffed, top them with their lids and stoppers.  Place vegetables in a roasting pan. If you find that you have extra space between vegetables, fill it with potatoes that you have peeled and cut into thick chunks.

Step 11

Mix tomato sauce with vegetable oil and pour into roasting pan. We use a 15 inch round roasting pan.  Add enough water so that there is at least 1/4 inch of liquid in bottom of pan.

Step 12

Cover with tin foil and bake in a 375 degree oven for about one hour. Remove foil and continue to bake for another hour or until rice is cooked.  If you find that the liquid in your pan has evaporated during the cooking process, add some more water.

Step 13

Let cool and serve.

Step 14

Enjoy.