Peppers Stuffed with Meat, Rice and Cinnamon, Halved Lengthwise with homemade tomato paste

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

For the Meatball mix

1. 8
   Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat.

   StoveFrying pan
2. 9
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   Stove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 10
   Add the garlic and fry 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
4. 11
   Raise the heat to medium-high and add the meat. Press it flat over the bottom and leave it for 2–3 minutes without stirring, until a brown crust forms.

   Stove

   💡Brown ground beef in the pot without pressing it: leave it as one 'cake' for a few minutes until a brown crust forms, then break it into chunks. Deep browning = deep flavor.
5. 12
   Break it up with a wooden spoon and fry for 5–7 more minutes, stirring, until no pink is left and the meat browns.

   StoveWooden spoon
6. 13
   Add the rice, half the tomatoes, the tomato paste, the cumin, the paprika, the cinnamon, the salt and the black pepper to the meat and stir.

   Stove
7. 14
   Remove from the heat.

   Stove

To assemble

1. 15
   Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F).

   Oven
2. 16
   Halve the peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds and white ribs.

   KnifeCutting board
3. 17
   Fill the peppers with the mixture up to ¾ full: the rice swells as it cooks.

   💡Fill only three-quarters full: the uncooked rice swells inside the vegetable, and a full filling gets pushed out.
4. 18
   Arrange the peppers, now stuffed, in a deep baking dish.

   Baking pan
5. 19
   Mix the stock and rest of the tomatoes and pour over the peppers.
6. 20
   Cover the baking dish with foil.

   Baking panAluminum foil
7. 21
   Heat in a wide pot, add and cook 0 minutes.

   OvenBaking pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
8. 22
   Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes so the sauce reduces.