Old-Fashioned Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

Tick each one off as you go.

• 6 medium green peppers (about 170 g each) (squat, flat-bottomed ones stand up best)
• 1 lb (500 g) ground beef (about 10% fat)
• 1 ⅓ cups (250 g) cooked long-grain rice (from about 100 g uncooked), cooled
• 1 large onion, finely chopped, plus 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 500 g passata, plus 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp dried oregano and 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 cup (100 g) mature Cheddar, grated
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil, salt and black pepper

Method

1. Prep. Slice the tops off the peppers about 1 cm down and pull out the seeds and white ribs. If one won't stand, shave the thinnest sliver off its base — without cutting into the cavity.
2. Blanch. Lower the peppers into a large pan of boiling salted water for 3–4 minutes, then drain upside down on a tea towel. Don't skip this — it's what makes them bake tender, not crunchy.
3. Brown. Oven to 350°F (180°C, fan 160°C). Soften the onion in the oil for 5 minutes, add the garlic, then the ground beef, and fry hard until properly browned. Stir in the purée, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, salt & pepper.
4. Mix. Off the heat, fold in the cooked rice with 4 tbsp of the passata, so the filling is moist but not sloppy. Taste and season.
5. Stuff. Stir the sugar, a pinch of salt and 100 ml water into the remaining passata; pour into a snug baking dish. Fill the peppers loosely — no pressing down — and stand them in the sauce.
6. Bake. Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes. Uncover, top with the Cheddar and bake 10–15 minutes more, until the peppers are completely tender and the cheese is golden. Rest 5 minutes and serve with the sauce spooned over.