Photo by Lauri Patterson/iStock
SERVES 6
6 bell peppers, tops cut away and seeds removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon minced garlic
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups cooked white rice
8 ounces tomato sauce
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon bread crumbs
Olive oil for drizzling
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large pot of boiling water, parboil the peppers until just tender, about 2–3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain, inverted, on a paper towel.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until soft, about 3 minutes. Add ground beef, garlic, parsley, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook until the meat is browned, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up the meat, about 5–6 minutes. Add cooked rice and tomato sauce, and stir well. Remove from the heat, and adjust the seasoning to taste.
Pour the water into the bottom of a baking dish. Stuff the bell peppers with the meat-rice mixture, and place in the baking dish. Mix the Parmesan and bread crumbs; sprinkle over stuffed peppers. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake until the peppers are tender and the stuffing is thoroughly heated, 30–35 minutes.
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Recipe tips
Why parboil bell peppers before stuffing? When the stuffing for bell peppers is cooked before going in the pepper, the cooking time (for the stuffing) in the oven will be shorter—just enough to thoroughly heat. Parboiling starts cooking the peppers and cuts down on the amount of time they need in the oven, so the peppers and the stuffing are ready at the same time. To parboil, bring water to a boil in a large pot. Cut the tops off and remove seeds from the peppers. Cook whole peppers in boiling water until slightly tender, about 2–3 minutes. Remove from water with a slotted spoon, and invert onto a paper towel to drain before stuffing.