Ingredients
- 4 green or red bell peppers
- Salt
- 5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 lb of lean ground beef
- 1 1/2 cup of cooked rice or 3/4 cup of raw instant rice
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp of dried oregano
- Fresh ground pepper
- 1 (1/2) cup ketchup
- 1 (1/2) tsp of Worcestershire Sauce
- Dash of Tabasco sauce (don't add too much – just one shake!)
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, cut top off peppers 1 inch from the stem end, and remove seeds. Add several generous pinches of salt to boiling water, then add peppers and boil, using a spoon to keep peppers completely submerged, until brilliant green (or red if red peppers) and their flesh slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Drain, set aside to cool.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 4 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat, add meat, rice, tomatoes, cheese and oregano, and season generously with salt and pepper. Add ½ of the toping mix described below into the mixture. Mix well.
- Drizzle remaining 1 tbsp. Oil inside peppers, arrange cut side up in a baking dish, then stuff peppers with filling. Combine ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl, then spoon over filling. Add 1/4 cup of water to the baking dish. Place in oven and bake for 40-50 minutes (or longer, depending on how big the peppers are that you are stuffing), until the internal temperature of the stuffed pepper is 150-160°F.
Serves 4.
|