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Overhead shot of a baking dish with golden-topped Mediterranean stuffed peppers, tomato sauce pooling around each one.

Baked Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers with Rice and Herbs

Bell peppers stuffed with herby parboiled rice, tomatoes, feta, and pine nuts, baked in two stages until soft and lightly golden on top.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Calories: 306

Ingredients
  

  • 6 large bell peppers (about 200 g each); tops cut off, seeds and membranes removed
  • 3 tbsp olive oil divided
  • 1 onion medium (150 g); finely diced
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 cup long-grain white rice / 200 g; uncooked
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes (400 g); divided
  • 1 cup vegetable broth / 240 ml
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts / 50 g; toasted
  • 1/3 cup fresh parsley / 15 g; chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh dill chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh mint chopped
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 150 g feta cheese crumbled, divided
  • 1 tsp salt plus more to taste
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes optional
  • 1 lemon juiced, for serving

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 190C/375F. Slice the tops off the peppers, scoop out seeds and membranes, and stand the peppers upright in a 33 x 23 cm / 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
  2. Warm 2 tbsp olive oil in a 26 cm / 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until soft and see-through.
  3. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
  4. Add the rice and stir to coat every grain in oil, toasting for 2 minutes.
  5. Pour in half the crushed tomatoes, the broth, salt, black pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes if using. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, until the rice is half-cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed.
  6. Take the skillet off the heat and stir in the toasted pine nuts, parsley, dill, mint, and half the feta.
  7. Spoon the rice mixture into the peppers, packing it gently and leaving a little room at the top for the rice to finish swelling as it bakes.
  8. Mix the remaining crushed tomatoes with 1/4 cup / 60 ml water and pour it around the peppers in the dish. Cover tightly with foil.
  9. Bake covered for 35 minutes, then remove the foil, scatter the remaining feta over the tops, and bake uncovered for 15 minutes more, until the peppers are tender when pierced with a knife and the tops are lightly golden.
  10. Let the peppers rest for 5 minutes. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice before serving.

Notes

  • Parboil rice only until half-cooked, it finishes in the oven.
  • Stand peppers in a snug baking dish so they don't tip over.
  • Cover with foil for the first 35 minutes to trap steam.
  • Taste filling before stuffing, feta adds a lot of salt.