Poivrons farcis au riz

03 — Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F) fan. Wash the 6 peppers and cut off the tops (1 cm / ⅜ in below the stem), keeping them as lids. Carefully remove the seeds and white ribs.
2. Lightly salt the inside of the peppers and turn them upside down on paper towels for 15 minutes to drain, so the filling doesn’t get soggy.
3. Rinse the rice under cold water to remove the starch. Cook it for 8 minutes in 500 ml (2 cups) of salted vegetable stock — just halfway; it finishes cooking in the oven inside the peppers.
4. Meanwhile, finely dice the 2 yellow onions. Remove the germ from the 4 garlic cloves and crush them. Chop the parsley and basil, keeping a few whole leaves to garnish.
5. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in the large skillet over medium heat. Soften the onions for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the ground beef and cook for 8 minutes, breaking it up with a spoon.
6. Add the chopped tomatoes, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes to reduce. Stir in the par-cooked rice, chopped herbs and half the cheese.
7. Stand the peppers upright in the baking dish and fill them generously, packing the filling lightly with a spoon. Put the lids back on.
8. Pour 200 ml (¾ cup) of water into the dish, drizzle the peppers with olive oil and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes at 180 °C (350 °F), then uncover and bake 10 more minutes to brown.