Italian Stuffed Bell Peppers

About This Recipe

Stuffed peppers are one of the great Italian-American comfort foods — a complete meal in an edible vessel. The filling combines lean ground beef with rice, tomato, garlic, herbs and Parmigiano, simmered briefly before stuffing into halved bell peppers and baking until the peppers are tender and the cheese topping is bubbling.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4 largebell peppers(any colour, halved lengthwise and seeded)
• 500 glean ground beef
• 1 mediumonion(finely diced)
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 150 glong-grain white rice(uncooked)
• 1 candiced tomatoes(400g)
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 300 mlbeef stock
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1 tspdried basil
• 0.5 tspred pepper flakes(optional)
• 100 gParmigiano-Reggiano(grated, divided)
• 150 glow-moisture mozzarella(shredded)
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 0.25 bunchfresh basil(chopped)
• salt and pepper(to taste)

Instructions

1. 1

   Prep the peppers

   Cut peppers in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and membranes. Brush cut sides with olive oil and place cut-side up in a baking dish.

2. 2

   Brown the beef

   Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook 6 minutes, breaking up, until browned. Drain excess fat if needed.

3. 3

   Build the filling

   Add onion to the beef and cook 4 minutes until soft. Add garlic, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Cook 60 seconds.

4. 4

   Add rice and liquid

   Stir in uncooked rice, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and beef stock. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook 12 minutes — rice should be partially cooked but not fully.

5. 5

   Stir in cheese

   Off the heat, stir in half the Parmigiano. Taste and adjust seasoning.

6. 6

   Stuff and bake

   Spoon filling into pepper halves. Top with the remaining Parmigiano and the mozzarella. Cover the dish with foil and bake at 190°C for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes until peppers are tender and cheese is golden bubbling.

7. 7

   Rest and serve

   Rest 5 minutes. Top with fresh basil. Serve with crusty bread or a green salad.

Variations

• •

  Vegetarian: substitute lentils or quinoa + crumbled feta for the ground beef.

• •

  Mexican Stuffed Peppers: substitute black beans + corn + cumin + chili powder; top with cheddar.

• •

  Greek Stuffed Peppers: add chopped olives, oregano, lemon zest; substitute feta for Parmigiano.

• •

  Turkish Style (Biber Dolması): substitute lamb mince, currants, pine nuts, cinnamon and parsley.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 4 days. Freeze stuffed unbaked peppers for 3 months — bake from frozen, adding 20 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions