Paprika mit Tofu-Reis-Füllung und Tomatensauce (stuffed peppers with tofu and rice filling)
Halved bell peppers filled with a rice and crumbled tofu mixture, baked directly in a pool of tomato sauce so the peppers braise from the outside while the filling sets from the inside. Par-cooking the rice before it goes into the filling is what stops the peppers needing an unreasonably long bake to cook raw rice through.
Prep30 min
Cook45 min
Oven190°C
Servings4
Christoph's stuffed peppers, the rice par-cooked first so the peppers don't need an unreasonably long bake to cook raw rice through.
Ingredients
Written for a 30 × 20 cm dish
Units
Temperature
Servings
Filling
- 150 g long-grain rice rounded
- 300 g firm tofu, crumbled rounded
- 150 g onion, finely chopped rounded
- 2 garlic cloves rounded
- 30 ml olive oil rounded
- 5 g dried oregano rounded
- 15 g fresh parsley (optional) rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
To assemble
- 4 large bell peppers, halved lengthwise, seeds and ribs removed rounded
- 500 g chopped tomatoes rounded
- 20 ml olive oil rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the rice for 10 minutes, until roughly two-thirds done, still with a firm bite. Drain.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan and sweat the onion and garlic for 4 minutes, until softened. Add the crumbled tofu and cook a further 3 minutes. For a firmer, better-seasoned filling, simmer the block whole for 3 minutes in salted water before crumbling it (see the tofu prep formula).
- Combine the par-cooked rice, tofu mixture, oregano, parsley and salt in a bowl, mixing evenly.
- Heat the oven to 190°C. Pour the chopped tomatoes into a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt.
- Nestle the pepper halves cut-side up into the tomato sauce. Fill each generously with the rice mixture, pressing down gently.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the filling is hot all the way through, basting the peppers with the tomato sauce once or twice during baking.
Notes
- Par-cook the rice before it goes into the filling. Raw rice packed into a pepper needs far longer in the oven to cook through than the pepper itself can handle without collapsing; par-cooking to two-thirds done gets the timing to match.
- Bake the peppers directly in the tomato sauce, not just topped with it. Sitting in the sauce lets the peppers braise and soften properly rather than just roasting dry.
- Choose peppers with a flat enough base to sit upright, or wedge them together snugly in the dish so they hold their filling without tipping.
- It keeps for 3 days in the fridge and reheats well, covered, in a moderate oven.
Ingredient substitutions
- Firm tofu can be crumbled tempeh for a nuttier flavour and firmer texture.
- A short simmer in salted water before crumbling the tofu firms it and seasons it at the same time; see the tofu prep formula.
- Long-grain rice can be any rice you have; adjust the par-cooking time if using a faster or slower-cooking variety.
- A little grated vegan cheese scattered over before the final bake is a good, optional addition.
Good with
From Christoph Mayer