Bell peppers stuffed with seasoned ground beef, rice and olives, baked in a light tomato sauce.
Pimientos rellenos are a common home-style dish across Argentina, reflecting the country's strong Spanish and Italian culinary roots in their combination of ground beef, rice, tomato and green olives. The filling is cooked on the stovetop first, browning the beef with onion and garlic before mixing in cooked rice, chopped olives and a touch of paprika, so the peppers only need to bake long enough to soften and heat through rather than cook a raw filling. Green olives are the ingredient that gives this dish its distinctly Argentinian, Spanish-influenced character, adding a briny, slightly sharp contrast to the richness of the beef that separates it from stuffed pepper recipes found elsewhere. A simple tomato sauce poured around the peppers before baking keeps them moist and adds a light, saucy element to spoon over the rice once served. Baked until the peppers are tender and the filling is heated through, pimientos rellenos are a straightforward, satisfying family dinner, the kind of dish many Argentinians grew up eating on a regular weeknight rotation.
Serves 4
Blanch pepper halves or tops-removed peppers in boiling water for 3 minutes to soften slightly. Drain and set in a baking dish.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onion until soft, add garlic and cook 1 minute, then add ground beef and brown, breaking it up, about 8 minutes.
Stir in rice, olives, paprika, 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper, mixing until evenly combined.
Use rice that's a day old or slightly cooled -- warm, freshly cooked rice can turn gummy when mixed straight into the hot beef.
Mix crushed tomatoes with oregano and remaining salt. Pour around the peppers in the baking dish.
Pack the filling into each pepper, top with cheese if using, cover with foil, and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes until the peppers are tender and the cheese is melted and lightly golden.
Serve hot, spooning the tomato sauce from the baking dish over each pepper.
Blanch the peppers briefly before stuffing so they cook through evenly without the filling drying out in the oven.
Chop the olives fairly small so their briny flavor distributes evenly through the filling rather than concentrating in a few bites.
Use day-old or cooled rice for the filling to avoid a gummy texture once mixed with the hot beef.
Vegetarian version: replace the beef with a mix of mushrooms and lentils, keeping the same rice, olive and paprika seasoning.
Extra cheesy: top generously with mozzarella or provolone for the last 10 minutes of baking.
Spicier: add a pinch of red chile flakes to the beef filling for extra heat.
Refrigerate up to 3 days in an airtight container. Reheat covered in a 350°F oven until warmed through, or in the microwave for individual portions.
Stuffed pepper dishes like pimientos rellenos reflect the strong Spanish and Italian culinary influence brought by immigrants to Argentina in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and remain a common home-style dinner across the country.
Yes, either works well; ground chicken will need a slightly shorter browning time since it's leaner and cooks faster than beef.
Blanching them briefly before stuffing helps, and keeping the dish covered with foil for most of the baking time traps steam that softens them further -- give them extra time covered if needed.
Yes, assemble the stuffed peppers a day ahead, cover and refrigerate, then bake straight from the fridge, adding about 10 extra minutes to the covered baking time.
Per serving (320g / 11.3 oz) · 4 servings total
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