Beef & rice stuffed peppers

• 6Peppers
• 2 tbspOlive oil
• 1Brown onion
• 2 clovesGarlic, crushed
• 100gMature cheddar, grated
• 500gBeef mince
• 1 tspSmoked paprika
• 1 tspGround cumin
• 1 tspDried oregano
• 1 tbspTomato purée
• 150gBasmati rice
• 1 tinChopped tomatoes
• 1 cubeBeef stock cube, in 300ml water

Plus salt, pepper and water.

Method

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan). Halve 4 of the peppers lengthways through the stalk and scoop out the seeds. Sit them cut side up in a large baking dish, brush with 1 tbsp of the oil, season and roast for 15 minutes to soften.

   20 min, mostly hands-off

2. 2

   Meanwhile, finely chop the onion, dice the other 2 peppers, crush the garlic and grate the cheese.

3. 3

   Heat the rest of the oil in a large pan and brown the mince over a high heat for 8 minutes, breaking it up, until no pink remains. Add the onion and diced pepper and cook for 5 minutes more.

4. 4

   Stir in the garlic, paprika, cumin, oregano and tomato purée for a minute. Add the rinsed rice, chopped tomatoes and the stock cube crumbled into 300ml boiling water. Cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the rice is tender and most of the liquid has gone. Season.

   18 min, mostly hands-off

5. 5

   Pile the filling into the pepper halves, pressing it down, and spoon any extra around them. Scatter over the cheese.

6. 6

   Bake for 20 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the cheese has melted and turned golden in places.

   20 min, mostly hands-off

7. 7

   Serve, or cool quickly and pack into tubs. Because of the rice, get them into the fridge within an hour of cooking.

   10 min, mostly hands-off