Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Peppers

• 180 gcooked basmati rice
• 150 gbaby spinach, to wilt
• Fine salt, to taste
• 15 gspring onion green tops, sliced
• 400 gricotta
• 40 gvegetarian Italian-style hard cheese, finely grated
• 1 tsplemon zest
• 30 gpine nuts, optional (optional)
• 400 gtomato passata
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1 tbspolive oil
• 4large peppers, about 800 g total, tops and seeds removed
• Black pepper, to taste

Method

1. 1Preheat the oven to 190°C fan (210°C conventional). Slice the tops off the peppers, pull out the seeds and white pith, then brush inside and out with 1 tsp of the olive oil and stand them upright in a shallow baking dish; snug enough that they hold each other steady.
2. 2Warm the remaining 2 tsp olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Tip in the passata with a generous splash of water; about 60ml; along with the oregano, then season with salt and pepper. Simmer gently for 6–8 minutes until it darkens slightly and loses its raw edge. Spoon a thin layer across the base of the baking dish.
3. 3Wilt the spinach in a dry pan or microwave for 1–2 minutes until it fully collapses. Tip onto a clean tea towel and wring it out hard; water you leave in here ends up loosening the filling later. Roughly chop.
4. 4In a bowl, fold together the ricotta, cooked rice, vegetarian hard cheese, spring onion tops, lemon zest and chopped spinach. Season generously with salt and plenty of black pepper, then taste; ricotta is mild and will absorb more salt than you think.
5. 5Stuff each pepper firmly, pressing the filling into the corners with the back of a spoon so there are no air pockets, then mound a generous heap on top. Spoon the remaining passata around the peppers to form a shallow layer in the dish; this becomes the sauce you'll spoon over at the end.
6. 6Bake for 40–45 minutes until the peppers have slumped slightly, the filling is set with a burnished golden top, and a skewer slides into the pepper flesh with no resistance. If the tops are colouring too fast before the peppers soften, loosely tent with foil for the last 10 minutes.
7. 7While the peppers bake, toast the optional pine nuts if using in a dry pan over low heat, shaking constantly, for 2–3 minutes until pale gold and fragrant. Watch them; they go from gold to bitter in seconds. Tip straight onto a plate so they stop cooking.
8. 8Serve one stuffed pepper per person with the tomato sauce spooned around it. Scatter over the toasted pine nuts if using.

Per serving

kcal

416

protein

21.6g

fibre

7.3g

carbs

38.8g

fat

20.3g