Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers... the kind of thing your vegetarian hippy mum used to try and force you to eat. They'd be full of things like brown, overcooked rice and lentils and barley and children's fingernails and death.

NO LONGER. I make a half arsed effort to be healthy and eat nutritious meals, but sometimes the urge for meat and cheese becomes so overwhelming that I walk into Waitrose and inhale everything with a saturated fat rating of 10g or over. This recipe is a relationship. It is built on compromise and trust. Healthy enough for you to feel smug but also enough tasty components to comfort any cravings for fatty food that you may have.

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

To Serve Two

• 2 large peppers
• 1 can of refried beans
• Half a mug of uncooked rice (I used a mixture of Long Grain and Wild Rice)
• 2 large tomatoes
• A Handful of fresh chillis 
• 1 onion
• Tomato Puree
• White Wine Vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic
• Fresh lime for squeezing
• Cumin Seeds
• Ground Coriander
• Fresh Thyme
• Paprika
• A cheese of your choice (I used Halloumi)

Directions

First of all, preheat your oven to around 200C. 

Cook your rice and put to one side.

Chop your tomatoes and chillis into sizeable chunks and place on a baking tray. 

Take your cloves of garlic and crush them with the flat of your knife so that they split open - no need to peel them! Add these to the baking tray.

Roast these in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes, or until they start to blacken. Don't turn the oven off once they're done.

When done, take these out and whizz in a food processor until they form a 'salsaeque' consistency. Put to one side.

Chop your onion finely and sautee in a lightly oiled frying pan at a medium heat. 

Once the onion is soft and translucent, add all of your spices plus some salt and pepper for extra seasoning. Fry for a couple of minutes.

Add your 'salsa', along with 1tbsp of tomato puree, a squeeze of lime juice and a splash of white wine vinegar.

Ensure the ingredients are fully combined and cook for a couple of minutes. Take off the heat.

Get a large bowl and empty your refried beans into it. Add your rice and the salsa. Stir well until all the ingredients are well mixed.

Slice the top from your pepper and scrape out any remaining seeds. 

The easiest way for these to cook is to place them upright in a muffin tin. If not, you might want to cut your peppers in half so that you can lay them down on a baking tray. 

Fill your peppers with the mixture and top with your choice of cheese. 

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.