Dolma (Turkish Stuffed Vegetables with Rice and Meat)

Steps

1. Hollow out the vegetables. Peppers: cut a lid around the stem, remove the seeds and ribs, and keep the lids. Tomatoes: slice a 1/2 inch (1 cm) lid off the stem end, scoop them out with a teaspoon leaving a 1/4 inch (5 mm) wall, keep the lids, and chop the pulp. Zucchini: cut into 3 inch (7 cm) pieces and hollow each one with a melon baller or teaspoon, leaving a 1/4 inch (5 mm) base and wall. Keep the zucchini scraps.
2. Rinse the rice in a sieve under cold water until it runs almost clear, then drain well. Grate the onions on the large holes of a box grater, keeping their juice, and finely chop the parsley.
3. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, grated onions and their juice, half the tomato pulp, 1 tablespoon of the tomato paste, the parsley, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the dried mint, 1 teaspoon of the paprika, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, the pepper and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Knead by hand for 2 minutes until the filling is even and soft.
4. Fill each vegetable only three-quarters full, without packing: the rice will swell as it cooks. Cover the peppers and tomatoes with their lids.
5. Spread the zucchini scraps and the rest of the tomato pulp over the bottom of a wide Dutch oven (10 to 11 inches, 26 to 28 cm). Stand the stuffed vegetables upright, packed snugly in a single layer, with the more fragile tomatoes toward the center.
6. Whisk the hot water with the remaining tomato paste, the rest of the salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Pour this broth between the vegetables, not over them: it should come halfway up their sides. Set a small upside-down plate on top to keep them upright.
7. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower to a gentle simmer. Cook for 40 to 45 minutes, until a knife slides easily into a zucchini and the rice inside a pepper is tender with no hard center. If the pot looks dry halfway through, add a small splash of hot water.
8. Turn off the heat and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes: the rice finishes absorbing the juices and the filling firms up. Meanwhile, grate the garlic clove into the yogurt, add a pinch of salt and stir.
9. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When it foams, add the remaining paprika and stir for 30 seconds until the butter turns red-orange, then take it off the heat before it darkens.
10. Serve 2 or 3 vegetables per person with a ladle of the cooking juices. Add a big spoonful of garlic yogurt on the side, drizzle the yogurt with paprika butter, and sprinkle with the rest of the dried mint.