Lentil and rice stuffed peppers
Tender pepper halves filled with freshly cooked rice, tinned lentils and tomato sauce. Precooking the rice gives a reliable filling without guessing how much liquid a pepper holds.
An original Recipe From Fridge editorial recipe idea. Timings are estimates; check doneness as described, not by the clock alone.
Ingredients
- 4 large peppers, halved lengthways and deseeded
- 180g dry long-grain rice
- 400g tin green lentils, drained and rinsed (about 240g drained)
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 80g Cheddar, grated
- 1 tsp dried oregano
Method
- Prepare the peppers and pulses
Wash peppers, halve through the stalk and remove seeds and white membranes. Drain and rinse tinned lentils. Set pepper halves in the dish to check they fit in one layer before heating the oven.
- Start peppers and rice
Heat the oven to 200°C, or 180°C fan. Put pepper halves cut-side up in a large roasting dish with 3 tbsp water in the base. Bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile cook rice according to its packet instructions.
- Make the filling
Heat oil in a saucepan and soften onion for 7 minutes. Add tomatoes, oregano and lentils and simmer for 10 minutes until thick. Stir in freshly cooked rice.
- Fill and bake
Spoon the hot filling into the partly cooked pepper halves. Divide cheese over them and return to the oven for 20–25 minutes until peppers are tender and the filling is steaming hot throughout.
- Serve
Serve two filled halves per person, with any extra filling alongside.
Make it work with what you have
- Use large peppers so the filling fits. Do not add raw rice directly to the halves.
- Use tinned cooked green lentils, not dry lentils, which require separate cooking.