Beef and Rice Stuffed Peppers with Tomato and Melted Cheese

Prepare the peppers. Slice 1 cm off the top of each pepper and pull out the core and seeds. Bring the large saucepan of unsalted water to the boil, add the peppers and cook for 3 minutes until they just start to soften. Lift them out with the slotted spoon and stand them upside down to drain; a brief blanch gives them a head start so they become tender in the oven at the same time as the filling heats through.

Boil the rice. Bring the same water back to the boil, add the rice and boil for 12-13 minutes until just tender. Drain it well in the sieve and tip it into the large bowl. Slightly firm rice is ideal here, as it finishes softening in the oven by soaking up the tomato juices.

Brown the beef. Heat the oven to 190 °C (170 °C fan). Warm the oil in the frying pan over medium-high heat and cook the onion for 5 minutes until soft and beginning to brown. Add the beef and cook for 5-6 minutes, breaking it into small pieces, until browned all over with no raw red bits left (ground meat 71 °C). Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds; added last, it releases its aroma without burning.

Mix the filling. Add the beef mixture to the rice along with the drained tomatoes, 80 g of the mozzarella, the parsley, salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly. The cheese melts as it bakes and binds the rice and meat so the filling holds together when you cut into it.

Fill and top. Stand the peppers snugly in the baking dish and pack the filling in firmly, mounding it slightly at the top. Stir the ketchup into the kept tomato juice, spoon it over each pepper and scatter over the remaining mozzarella. A snug dish keeps the peppers upright so the filling stays inside.

Bake and rest. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cheese is browned, the peppers are tender when pierced with a knife and the centre of the filling reads 74 °C. Rest for 5 minutes before serving so the juices settle and the filling firms slightly.