Retro Stuffed Peppers
- Yield 6 servings
The key to great stuffed peppers is cooking the rice almost all the way before incorporating it into the stuffing.
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup raw white basmati rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 -- ribs celery, chopped
- 2 -- garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons dried leaf oregano
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
- 1 pound ground soy beef (such as Gimme Lean made by Lifelight or Boco Burger brand)
- -- Salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 -- (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 1 -- (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
- 1 cup loose-packed basil leaves
- 6 medium red, yellow or green bell peppers
Instructions
- In a small saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, bring water to a boil. Add basmati rice, stir, cover and simmer 20 minutes until nearly tender. Transfer rice to a large mixing bowl.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium saute pan or skillet and saute onions, celery, garlic and oregano 3 minutes until tender. Add sauteed vegetables to rice. Add parsley, soy beef, salt and pepper to rice and mix to combine.
- Combine marinara sauce, diced tomatoes and basil leaves in a nonreactive medium bowl. Spoon 1 cup of tomato sauce mixture on bottom of a 2.5-liter baking dish.
- Cut a 1/2-inch slice off top of each pepper. Remove seeds; reserve top pieces. Stuff peppers with rice mixture, leaving about 1/2-inch head space. Place top of each pepper back in place and stand peppers in baking dish.
- Pour remaining sauce over peppers. Cover loosely with foil and bake 50 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes until lightly browned. Cool 10 minutes and serve.
