Persian Tofu Dolmeh
This is comfort food for me. It reminds me of my childhood. I wasn’t really into eating except when my mom was making Dolmeh or Sholeh Zard (a Persian dessert).
Dolmeh is a stuffed dish in which vegetable or leaves are used as the container. It’s originally made with minced meat but I replaced it with shredded tofu like my grandma did for me the last time she visited.
This will take a few hours, so not the best if you are in a rush. Just put some music on and enjoy an afternoon of cooking. By the end of the day your home will be filled with beautiful aromas. Hope you’ll enjoy it!
Ingredients
Serves 4-5
5 peppers
For the filling:
- olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 1tsp turmeric
- 1/3 cup basmati rice
- 1/4 cup yellow split peas
- 1 bunch of fresh coriander
- 1 bunch of fresh tarragon
- 1 bunch of fresh mint (1tbsp dried)
- 1 bunch of fresh parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 3-4 tbsp tomato paste
- 200g shredded tofu
For the sauce:
- 1 can of chopped tomatoes
- the juice of one lemon
- salt & pepper
- 1/2 cup hot water
Method
Start by cutting the top of the peppers and remove what’s inside. Blanch the peppers for 5 min in boiling water. Rince them with cold water and set aside.
Clean your herbs by removing the stems and washing them up, chopped them finely with a knife or put in a food processor. Set aside.
In a small pan, put the rice and peas together with the same amount of water. Cook until they get a bit tender but not ready to eat. Set aside.
Sauté the onions in olive oil until soft. Add the turmeric, cook for a minute or 2 then add the shredded tofu. Cook for another couple of minutes then add the rice, peas, and the tomato paste. Give it a good stir until well combined. Take off the heat and add the herbs.
Fill your peppers with the preparation, close them with their top parts. Set aside.
Start by making the sauce in a large sauce pan mixing the chopped tomatoes with some olive oil, the lemon juice, salt and pepper, stir. Add the peppers to the pan. Make sure the the 5 peppers fit in and that they are tight (you can always add an additional peppers, or another veg to tight everything up so the peppers don’t fall appart). Bring to boil, cover, and simmer for 2 hours and half until to 3 hours. The pepper should be tender, the aromas should make you salivate!
Serve on a plate with the sauce. Enjoy!
