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Stuffed Peppers

Introduction & method

Variations of stuffed pepper dishes pop up all over the world. This recipe is a sort of generic Italian/Mediterranean version. Easy to make and very tasty, the peppers are stuffed with minced beef and rice, and topped with melted cheese.

 Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Prep the peppers


You can use any colour of bell peppers, but green ones tend to be a bit bitter whereas red ones are sweet. Cut the tops off the peppers and scoop out the seeds and internal ribs. If the peppers will not stand up straight, trim bits off the bottom until they do - but be careful not to cut all the way through the flesh.

Cook the rice


If you don't have any leftover rice you'll need to make some - it should be cooled to room temperature before you use it. Don't know how to cook rice? It's pretty easy. First of all rinse the rice in 4-5 changes of cold water until the water runs clear. Then put the rice in a pan and cover with twice the amount of water. Bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer, put a lid on and cook on low heat for ten minutes. All the water should be absorbed. Remove from heat, keep the lid on and let it sit for ten minutes. Then remove the lid, stir the rice with a fork and let it cool down. The quantities given here will make more rice than you need (150 grams - 5¼ ounces - cooked weight), so now you do have some leftover rice!

Make the filling


Peel and dice the onion. Heat some oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion for five minutes - it's okay if it goeas a bit brown. If you're using garlic, mince that and cook it for a minute, then add the minced beef. Use a spatula to break up the beef and get it browned all over. Add the tomato passata, the yeast extract, the chopped basil and ground black pepper. Stir in the cooked rice and check for seasoning. It shouldn't need salt because of the yeast extract, You want the stuffing to be fairly dry, not swimming in sauce.

Stuff the peppers


If any of the peppers can't stand up unaided, shave a bit off the bottom until they can. Slice the tops off the peppers, cut the ribs away from the shell and pull out the core. Stand all of the peppers upright in an ovenproof casserole or tin. Spoon filling into each one and press it down to ensure there are no cavities. You can place the tops back on the peppers if you like.

Cook the peppers


Heat your oven to 200° Celsius (392° Fahrenheit) for a fan/convection/airfryer oven, or 220° Celsius (425° Fahrenheit) for a conventional one, or gas 7. Pour some boiling water into the bottom of the dish to a depth of 1 centimetre (about half an inch). Loosely cover the dish with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Take them out of the oven, remove the pepper lids and sprinkle each pepper generously with grated cheese. Place under a grill or broiler for about 5 minutes until the cheese is fully melted.


The video above is from the Keef Cooks YouTube channel. Click here to see the video recipe of Stuffed Peppers on YouTube.

 
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Ingredients & Info



 4-6 red or green bell peppers
 250 grams minced beef
 150 grams basmati rice (cooked weight)
 1 medium onion
 125 ml tomato passata
 1 tsp yeast extract (Marmite)
 small handful basil
 to taste ground black pepper
 4 tbsp mozzarella and cheddar cheese

UNITS:
Metric
US Customary/Imperial

Serves 4 -6
Prep time: 10 minutes.
Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes.
Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes.