My mom recently went crazy at the butchers. She got some fantastic beef in 3 versions: minced, cubed & steak sliced. And obviously I am going to tell you what to do with each cut. Right now I'm focusing on minced meat. For a brilliant steak recipe, check out my previous post.
I didn't want to make the same old cutlet or potato chops that most pav households make. I wanted my minced meat to stand out. Which is why I opted for this recipe. For those of you who don't know, Shepherd's Pie is a traditional British dish of baked mince meat with a mashed potato 'crust' on top. You can obviously ask me why the peppers and why I decided to stuff this in it? Because I can, and because there were two massive peppers lying waste in my fridge. And it looks so pretty! All my recipes are born out of me peering into my fridge and checking which ingredients will expire soon and which I think I can throw together.
Don't eat beef? No problem. All my dishes can be substituted with chicken.
2 large Bell Peppers
2 Potatoes
200gms Beef
2 onions chopped
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick (whole)
1tbsp butter
1tsp Worcestershire sauce
1tsp Vinegar
1 tsp chopped ginger
1tsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp coarsely ground pepper
1 cup grated cheese (optional)
Salt to taste
Note: 1 tbsp of pepper might seem a little too much to most. Baking or grilling bell peppers brings out its inherent sweetness and hence the hit of peppered beef to balance out the flavours. Incase this is too much, sprinkle chilli or pepper to the beef according to your taste and preference.
Melt some butter in a large pan. Add the onions, ginger and garlic and sauté till onions are translucent. Now add the beef and reduce heat to a simmer. Add the bay leaf & cinnamon stick. Make sure these are whole spices as we will be removing them once the beef is cooked. You don't wanna chew a big bark of cinnamon with minced meat.
Add the worcestershire sauce, pepper and vinegar. Let the meat cook in its own juices. Once cooked, increase the heat on the gas. Stir often to prevent it from sticking to the base of the pan. Once all the liquid has evaporated and the meat is completely dry, remove the bay leaf and cinnamon stick.
In another pan boil potatoes in salted water. Once cooked, peel and mash.
Cut off the tops of the peppers and scoop up the seeds inside. You should be left with a hollow pepper mould. Stuff one teaspoon of the beef mixture. Press down to flatten it with the back of your spoon. It should give you a nice even layer. Now spoon in a teaspoon of the mashed potatoes. Again flatten surface with the back of the spoon to even it out. Repeat this process till the peppers are 90% stuffed.
The peppers will contract little with heat, which is why its important to not over stuff them or your stuffing will spill out. Bake in the oven for 15 mins at 130 degrees Celsius. The peppers should start wrinkling up but still hold its shape. Now add grated cheese to the top and fill the remaining 10% space that you left. Grill for 10 mins or until the cheese on top melts or gives a nice golden crust.
