Stuffed Romano Peppers with Rice, Herbs and Pine Nuts

Ingredients

• 100g feta cheese, crumbled
• 200g long-grain white rice
• 4 Romano peppers, halved lengthways and deseeded
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 350ml hot vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
• 50g dried currants
• 50g pine nuts, toasted in a dry pan
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• 20g fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 15g fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated, to serve
• 150g natural yoghurt, to serve
• extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle, to serve
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
• extra toasted pine nuts, to scatter, to serve
• fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, to finish

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Arrange the halved Romano peppers cut-side up in a large roasting tin, drizzle with olive oil and season well.
2. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a wide saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened and translucent.
3. Stir in the garlic, cinnamon and allspice and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant and the spices have bloomed in the oil.
4. Add the rice and stir to coat in the spiced oil, then pour in the hot stock. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes, until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid but is still slightly undercooked — it will finish in the oven.
5. Remove from the heat and stir through the currants, toasted pine nuts, lemon zest, half the parsley and half the mint. Season well, then fold through half the crumbled feta.
6. Spoon the rice filling generously into each pepper half, pressing it in firmly. Scatter the remaining feta over the top.
7. Toss the cherry tomatoes with 1 tbsp olive oil and the dried oregano, season well, and scatter around the peppers in the tin.
8. Roast for 25 minutes, until the peppers are tender and charred at the edges and the feta on top is golden and blistered.
9. While the peppers roast, stir the grated garlic and a squeeze of lemon juice into the yoghurt and season to taste.
10. Squeeze the remaining lemon juice over the peppers as they come out of the oven. Scatter with the remaining parsley and mint, a handful of extra toasted pine nuts and a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve with the garlic yoghurt spooned alongside and lemon wedges for squeezing.