Peperoni Ripieni (Filled Peppers)

Ingredients

• 4 large bell peppers (mixed colors look great)
• 200 g Arborio or short-grain rice
• 300 g ground beef (or half beef, half pork)
• 400 g canned chopped tomatoes
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 80 g Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated
• 100 g mozzarella or provola, diced small
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 10 fresh basil leaves, torn
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to season

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Instructions

1. Prep the peppers

1. Preheat oven to 190°C / 375°F / gas mark 5.
2. Wash the peppers. Cut the tops off and remove the seeds and membranes from inside.
3. If the peppers don’t stand upright, slice a tiny bit off the bottom to flatten them — don’t cut through to the inside.
4. Lightly brush the outside of each pepper with olive oil. Place them in a baking dish.

2. Cook the rice

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Cook the rice for about 2/3 of the package time — it should still have a bite since it will finish cooking inside the peppers.
3. Drain and set aside.

3. Make the filling

1. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and cook for 3–4 minutes until soft and translucent.
3. Add the garlic, cook 30 seconds.
4. Add the ground beef. Break it up and cook until browned (5–6 minutes).
5. Pour in half the chopped tomatoes (200 g). Stir.
6. Add the parsley, basil, salt, and pepper.
7. Simmer for 5 minutes.
8. Remove from heat and stir in the cooked rice and half the Parmigiano.

4. Stuff and bake

1. Spoon the remaining half of the chopped tomatoes into the bottom of the baking dish, around the peppers.
2. Fill each pepper generously with the rice-meat mixture, pressing down gently and mounding it on top.
3. Top each pepper with the diced mozzarella/provola and the remaining Parmigiano.
4. Place the pepper tops back on (optional — looks nice and keeps moisture in).
5. Pour 1/2 cup water into the bottom of the dish.
6. Cover the dish tightly with foil.
7. Bake for 30 minutes covered.
8. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes until the peppers are tender and the tops are golden.

5. Serve

1. Let rest for 5 minutes.
2. Serve one pepper per person, spooning some of the sauce from the dish over the top.

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Tips

• Partially cook the rice — this is essential. Fully cooked rice turns to mush inside the peppers. Undercook it by about 1/3 of the recommended time.
• Pick peppers with flat bottoms — they’ll stand up in the dish without rolling. If they won’t stand, just lay them on their side and stuff them like boats.
• Don’t pack the filling too tight — the rice expands as it finishes cooking. Leave a little room at the top.
• The water in the dish — it creates steam that helps cook the peppers through and keeps them from drying out.
• Leftovers — keep in the fridge for 3–4 days. Reheat in the oven at 180°C covered with foil until hot all the way through. Even better the next day.

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Variations

• Sicilian style: Add 2 tbsp pine nuts and 2 tbsp raisins (soaked in warm water for 10 minutes) to the filling. Sweet and savory — very traditional in Palermo.
• Vegetarian: Skip the meat. Use 200 g cooked rice mixed with 150 g ricotta, the sautéed onion and garlic, 80 g diced provola, the herbs, and half the tomatoes. Same baking method.
• With potatoes: Peel and dice 2 medium potatoes. Scatter them in the sauce around the peppers before baking. They cook in the tomato sauce and are amazing.

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Result

Soft, sweet roasted peppers filled with herby tomato-rice and savory beef, topped with melted cheese. A proper southern Italian dish that fills the kitchen with an incredible smell and feeds a family with almost no fuss.