Summer is the perfect time to make this recipe, as we are in the middle of tomato season. They are at their sweetest, ripest, and full of flavors.
The bell-pepper season goes from July to November, so it makes perfect sense to me to combine these two vegetables to make a typical French summery dish. This time I’ve chosen to go full red – my favorite color - but we can use green or yellow bell peppers to make it a colorful dish.
Serving: 6 people
Prep time: 30 min
Cooking time: 45 min
Ingredients:
5-6 medium-size tomatoes
2 bell peppers
1 ¼ lb / 500g minced beef or mixed beef/pork
1 onion
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 egg
1 1/2 tbsp dry thyme
1 tsp herbes de Provence
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1- Preheat the oven to 400 F or 200 C
2- Wash the tomatoes and the bell peppers. Cut off the tops of each tomato and keep aside to use as hats to cover the tomatoes. Cut the bell peppers lengthwise and remove the grain inside. If the bell peppers are small, you can cut the head off like the tomatoes.
3- Scoop the seeds out carefully from the tomatoes with a spoon, paying attention not to make holes in the skin. Keep the insides aside.
4- Mix thoroughly the minced beef with the chopped onion, mustard, egg, thyme, herb of Provence, salt, and pepper in a big bowl.
5- Stuff the tomatoes and bell peppers with the meat, making a small bump. Cover the tomatoes with their hats.
6- Cover the bottom of the baking dish with the tomato flesh removed from the tomatoes, place the stuffed tomatoes and bell peppers on top.
7- Sprinkle with the olive oil.
8- Bake for 45 minutes.
This dish is served with rice or sometimes baguette to soak the piece of bread in the sauce. It can also make for delicious leftovers! I like to make double the quantity and freeze half, making for an easy dinner for busy days. When reheating, I don’t defrost, I cover the dish with an aluminum foil and put it in the oven for 20 minutes or until it’s warm.
Have a great summer! #staysafe
