Stuffed peppers

Bell peppers filled with rice and seasoned ground meat, simmered in a sweet-and-savoury tomato sauce — a homely Czech classic for four.

Ingredients

• bell peppers8 pcs
• ground meat500 g
• rice100 g
• tomato paste2 tbsp
• onion1 pcs
• eggs1 pcs

Method

1. Prep peppers and onion. Slice the tops off the peppers and set them aside — you'll use them as lids. Scoop out the seeds and membranes with a spoon. Finely dice the onion.
2. Par-cook the rice. Simmer the rice in salted water for just 8 minutes — it should still have a firm bite as it will finish cooking inside the peppers. Drain and leave to cool slightly.
3. Mix the filling. Combine the ground meat, par-cooked rice, diced onion, egg, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix thoroughly with your hands until everything is evenly combined.
4. Fill the peppers. Pack the meat mixture firmly into each pepper, leaving about 1 cm at the top so the filling has room to expand. Press the reserved pepper lids back on top.
5. Build the tomato sauce. Stir the tomato paste into about 500 ml of water in a wide, deep pan or casserole — the pot should be large enough to hold all 8 peppers upright. Season with salt and pepper, and bring to a gentle simmer.
6. Simmer the peppers. Stand the stuffed peppers upright in the simmering sauce, cover with a lid, and cook over a low heat for 45–50 minutes. The sauce should bubble gently throughout; top up with a splash of water if it reduces too much.
7. Check and rest. The peppers are done when they are completely tender and a skewer slides through the flesh with no resistance. Rest for 5 minutes off the heat before serving.
8. Plate the dish. Place two peppers per person in a deep bowl or on a rimmed plate and spoon the tomato sauce generously over and around them.

Safety & hygiene Important

• Check meat is fully cooked. Because the filling is dense, make sure the centre of each stuffed pepper reaches at least 75 °C before serving — cut one open after 45 minutes; the meat should be uniformly grey-brown with no pink remaining.