Turkish Stuffed Peppers

Cut the stems off 8 peppers, remove the seeds, rinse them, and pierce the bottom of each pepper with the tip of a knife.

Finely chop the onion, parsley, dill, and mint; grate or very finely mince one tomato, and slice the other into rounds for topping.

Combine the ground beef, rinsed rice, onion, minced tomato, parsley, dill, mint, tomato paste, salt, and black pepper. Pour in 50 ml of water and knead the filling thoroughly.

Fill the peppers with the stuffing to about three-quarters full, without packing it down, so the rice has room to swell. Top each pepper with a tomato slice.

Pack the stuffed peppers tightly, standing upright, in a shallow pot or sauté pan. Mix the remaining water with the oil and pour it around the peppers.

Bring the liquid to a boil, cover the pot with a lid, and simmer over low heat for 50 minutes, until the peppers and rice are tender and the filling is fully cooked through.

Let the peppers rest, covered, for 5 minutes, then serve hot with the sauce from the bottom of the pot.