Stuffed Peppers with Rice and Artichokes

Prep 25 min·Cook 30 min·Total 55 min·4 servings (8 stuffed halves)·VEGETARIAN·480 kcal

Ingredients

For the peppers and the filling

4 large red bell peppers
200 gr (7 oz.) long-grain rice (uncooked)
50 gr (1.8 oz.) sun-dried tomatoes (in oil, well drained)
100 gr (3.5 oz.) artichoke hearts (drained)
2 Tbsp capers
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper (to taste)

For the tomato bed and the topping

800 gr (28 oz.) diced tomatoes (canned, half of it goes into the filling)
100 gr (3.5 oz.) grated cheese
fresh herbs (oregano or basil, to garnish)

Equipment: Saucepan for the rice, Frying pan, Baking dish, Chopping board and a sharp knife

Instructions

Cook the rice

1.Cook the long-grain rice according to the packet instructions and let it cool. This is easily done the day before, and cold rice mixes into the filling far better.

Prepare the vegetables

1.Halve the peppers lengthways and remove the seeds and the white membranes inside.
2.Peel the onion and the garlic and chop them finely.
3.Cut the sun-dried tomatoes and the artichoke hearts into small pieces and roughly chop the capers.

Make the filling

1.Heat the olive oil in a pan and soften the onion and garlic in it.
2.Add the sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, capers and half of the diced tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and let everything reduce for 5 minutes until the mixture is thick.
3.Stir in the cooked rice and taste for seasoning again.

Fill and bake

1.Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F), conventional heat.
2.Spread the remaining diced tomatoes in a baking dish and season them with salt, pepper and the dried oregano.
3.Fill the pepper halves with the rice mixture and set them on the bed of tomatoes.
4.Scatter the grated cheese evenly over the stuffed peppers.
5.Bake everything in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cheese is golden and the peppers are tender.

Serve

1.Garnish the stuffed peppers with fresh herbs and serve them hot, with a spoonful of the tomato sauce from the dish.

Notes

Tip from my kitchen: the rice has to be cooked and cooled, otherwise the whole recipe does not work. So I cook it the day before, whenever there is rice on the stove anyway. Always halve the peppers lengthways rather than cutting off a lid, so the halves stand steadily and cook through evenly. I chop the capers roughly, because whole capers are little salt bombs while chopped ones spread their flavour across the whole filling. The bed of tomatoes under the peppers is not a styling moment: it steams them tender from below and turns into the sauce along the way, which I spoon onto the plate as well. If you want the filling more substantial, stir a drained tin of chickpeas into the rice.

Nutrition per serving: 480 kcal · 15 g protein

MY NOTES

Ten more easy vegan dinners, free: frei-style.com/ebook