Şimşipe — Stuffed Dried Peppers, Eggplants and Squash

Name: Şimşipe — Stuffed Dried Peppers, Eggplants and Squash
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 110 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 8 piece dried eggplants (see recipe Hişkkirin — Drying Eggplants and Peppers for Winter Dolma; or shop-bought, “kuru patlıcan” in Turkish shops); 8 piece dried peppers (from the same recipe; or shop-bought, “kuru biber”); 4 piece dried squash shells (“kuru kabak” in Turkish shops); boiling water for soaking, as needed; 2 tbsp ground sumac (for the cooking liquid); 700 ml hot water (for the cooking liquid); 250 g short-grain rice (Baldo or Osmancık); water for washing, as needed; 1 piece onion; 350 g minced lamb (or minced beef); 1 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tbsp red pepper paste (Turkish Biber salçası; mild or hot); 1 tbsp Isot (smoked Urfa pepper flakes); 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses (Turkish Nar ekşisi; see recipe Dimsê hinaran — Homemade Pomegranate Molasses, or shop-bought); 1 tsp dried mint; 1 tsp salt; 0.5 tsp ground black pepper; 3 tbsp neutral vegetable oil; 1 tbsp tomato paste (for the cooking liquid); 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses (for the cooking liquid); 0.5 tsp salt (for the cooking liquid)

A Kurdish classic from Botan (Siirt, Şırnak, Cizre) in southeastern Turkey: Şimşipe is the winter dolma made from dried vegetables, in which peppers, eggplants and squash shells dried in summer are soaked, stuffed with rice, minced lamb, Isot and pomegranate molasses and braised in a tangy sumac broth. In Turkish it is spelled Şımşıpe, and in Cizre the dish is also made with fresh vegetables, but always in a sumac broth. The dried vegetables taste concentrated and slightly smoky-sweet, the filling spicy, fruity and sour.

⏱

Cook time

110 min

🍽️

Servings

🧂

Ingredients

View Original ↗

Nutrition

per serving

675 kcal

Calories

24 g

Protein

31 g

Fat

74 g

Carbs

Ingredients

For 4 servings

Kitchen Tools

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Instructions

1
Remove any strings from the eggplants, peppers and squash shells, place them in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them. Soak until soft and pliable; the squash shells need a little longer than the others.
2
Meanwhile, stir the sumac for the cooking liquid into the hot water and leave it to steep so that the water turns red and sour.
3
Wash the rice until the water stays almost clear and drain well. Peel the onion and dice it very finely. Knead the rice, onion, minced lamb, tomato paste, red pepper paste, Isot, pomegranate molasses, mint, salt, pepper and 2 tbsp oil together thoroughly by hand.
4
Drain the soaked vegetables well. Carefully open each shell with your fingers and fill it loosely only three-quarters full, as the rice swells during cooking; press the top edge lightly inwards.
5
Brush the bottom of a wide, heavy pot with the remaining oil. Stand the stuffed shells upright, opening facing up, so close together that they support each other, with the squash shells in the middle.
6
Strain the sumac water through a fine sieve and stir in the tomato paste, pomegranate molasses and salt for the cooking liquid. Pour it in at the edge until the vegetables are three-quarters submerged, and place an upturned plate on top.
7
Bring to the boil once, put the lid on and simmer everything gently over a low heat until the rice is soft and the vegetables are tender.
8
Lift the lid away from you, as hot steam escapes, and cut an eggplant open: the rice should be soft, the minced meat cooked through with no trace of pink and the filling 70 °C in the centre. If not, add a splash of hot water and cook for a few more minutes.
9
Turn off the heat and leave the dish to rest, covered, then lift the stuffed vegetables onto a platter with a spoon and drizzle with the cooking liquid.
10
Tip: Dried vegetables vary in thickness; anything still hard after soaking stays in the hot water a few minutes longer. Yogurt goes well with it, for example from the recipe Mast — homemade yogurt, and minced beef works instead of minced lamb. Cool leftovers quickly, put them in the fridge within two hours at the latest and use them up within a day; to reheat, heat covered until the filling reaches 70 °C again.