stuffed bell peppers

6 bell peppers

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 kg finely chopped meat

1 finely chopped onion 

2 crushed garlic cloves

1 teaspoon mixed spices

Salt as desired

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

1/2 cup tomato paste

Half a cup of uncooked long-grain white rice

3/4 cup chicken broth 

1 cup grated mozzarella 

How to prepare stuffed bell peppers

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Wash and dry the bell peppers, then cut them in half horizontally. Make sure you cut it as evenly as possible.

Using a sharp paring knife, carefully cut and remove the stem from the top half of each pepper.

Place each sweet pepper half on a plate.

Rub the sweet peppers with a tablespoon of oil and season with salt and ground black pepper.

Bake the bell peppers in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until cooked. After 20 minutes, remove the sweet peppers from the oven and set aside.

While the sweet peppers are baking, prepare the filling.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil.

Add the minced meat, chopped onions and garlic.

Continue frying over medium heat until the onions become translucent and the garlic becomes fragrant.

Next, add the uncooked rice, tomato sauce, spices, a teaspoon of salt, and chicken broth to the pan.

Stir the mixture.

Place a lid on the pan, raise the temperature to medium-high, and leave the mixture until it comes to a complete boil.

Once boiling, immediately reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the mixture without lifting the lid or stirring for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and let it rest, without removing the lid, for an additional 5 minutes.

After that, stir the mixture again to redistribute the ingredients.

Start by stuffing each bell pepper with the meat filling. 

Top each bell pepper evenly with grated mozzarella cheese.

Place some loosely covered aluminum foil over the top of the casserole dish and bake for 15 minutes until the peppers are slightly soft.

Now, remove the aluminum foil and grill the stuffed bell peppers for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese turns brown.

Garnish with parsley, if desired, and enjoy!