Stuffed Capsicums with Rice and Beef

About This Recipe

Stuffed capsicums are simple, practical family cooking, built around whatever ground meat and grain are already in the pantry. Bell peppers are halved and their seeds scraped clean, then filled with a mixture of ground beef, rice and a tomato-based sauce, seasoned just enough to let the pepper's own sweetness come through once roasted. Roasting the empty pepper halves briefly before filling them softens the walls slightly, which helps them hold their shape without collapsing while still cooking through fully in the same time as the filling. A layer of grated cheese melted over the top in the last few minutes of baking finishes the dish with a golden, bubbling crust. This is unfussy, freezer-friendly dinner-table cooking, popular across Australian households as a way to turn a single pound of mince into a full, satisfying meal that also looks like more effort went into it than actually did.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4large bell peppers (capsicums)(halved and seeded)
• 1 lbground beef
• 1 cupcooked white rice
• 1yellow onion(diced)
• 2 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 1 cuptomato sauce or passata
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1.5 tspfine sea salt
• 0.25 tspblack pepper
• 1 cupshredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tbspolive oil

Instructions

1. 1

   Pre-roast the peppers

   Brush the halved peppers with olive oil and roast cut-side up at 400°F for 10 minutes to soften slightly.

2. 2

   Cook the filling

   Meanwhile, cook onion and garlic in a splash of oil for 5 minutes, then add ground beef and cook, breaking it up, until browned, about 6-7 minutes.

3. 3

   Combine

   Stir in cooked rice, tomato sauce, oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer 5 minutes until thickened.

   Pre-roasting the empty pepper halves for 10 minutes keeps them from collapsing while the filling finishes cooking in the same time.

4. 4

   Fill the peppers

   Spoon the beef and rice filling generously into the pre-roasted pepper halves.

5. 5

   Bake

   Return to the oven and bake 20-25 minutes until the peppers are tender.

6. 6

   Add cheese

   Top each pepper with shredded cheese and bake 5 more minutes until melted and golden.

7. 7

   Serve

   Serve hot, straight from the baking dish.

Variations

• •

  Use ground turkey or lamb instead of beef for a different flavor.

• •

  Add corn kernels or black beans to the filling for extra texture.

• •

  Make it vegetarian with a lentil and rice filling instead of ground meat.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze unbaked, filled peppers up to 3 months. Reheat in a covered dish in a 350°F oven until warmed through.

Frequently Asked Questions