Mince and rice stuffed capsicums

• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celsius.
• Begin by chopping your onion, carrot and celery into small cubes to create a mirepoix. Sauté on a medium heat with a tablespoon of olive oil, for a generous amount of time until the vegetables are soft and translucent – about 10 to 15 minutes. The longer you cook this down, the better the flavour will be. Remove these from the pan and set aside.
• Add the beef mince to the pan, adding some extra oil if required. Sauté this off, browning the meat and squashing it with a wooden spoon to ensure there are no large bits of mince. Once the mince is brown, add the mirepoix back in to the pan, along with the garlic. Add the bayleaves and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté for a few minutes, before adding in the tomato paste. Cook this off for 2-3 minutes.
• In order to deglaze the pan and remove any stuck-on pieces, add the white wine – this is great flavour. Simmer the wine off for 5 minutes, stirring to get any remaining browned meat or vegetables from the bottom of the pan.
• Once the wine has absorbed a little, add in the rice and stir to coat with all of the flavours. Add in your stock (keeping 1⁄4 cup aside) and turn the heat down very low.
• Let this sit, only for 5-10 minutes or so. The rice does not have to be completely cooked, as it will have its final cook in the oven.
• Prepare the capsicums by washing and drying. Cut off the top of each capsicum, removing the stem and seeds inside. Add the rice and mince mixture to each capsicum to fill. Place the lids back on top and pop them in a tray. To the bottom of the tray, add the remaining 1⁄4 cup of stock – this will ensure the capsicums steam from the bottom and will result in even cooking.
• Cover the tray with aluminium foil and place in the oven for 45 minutes. Once the 45 minutes has passed, uncover the tray and place it back in the oven for a remaining 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Recipe by Alexandra Berto