Tonia Buxton's Greek stuffed peppers

Tonia Buxton returns to the Lorraine Kitchen to make her Greek stuffed peppers, which cost less than £1 per portion!

Makes 4Prep: 15 minutesCook: 60 minutes

Ingredients:4 large peppers2 tbsp olive oil1 large onion, chopped2oz/50g long grain rice250g minced pork1 tbsp chopped fresh mint2 tbsp tbsp chopped fresh parsley1 tsp ground cinnamonSea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste400g can plum tomatoes (or 3-4 large ripe tomatoes, finely chopped)Juice of ½ lemon1 tbsp olive oil125ml stockTzatziki and/or tahini to serve (optional)

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4

• Neatly cut the tops off the peppers and keep to form the lids. Remove the seeds and discard.

• Fry the onion in the oil until it begins to colour. Stir in the rice and pork mince.

• Add the mint, parsley, cinnamon, seasoning and tomatoes

• Stir until the rice becomes transparent and the mince browns

• Divide the mince mixture between the peppers not quite to the top, leaving a gap

• Arrange them snugly in a casserole dish (wedge some potato slices between the peppers if necessary to keep them upright)

• Pour over the lemon juice, olive oil and stock. Add the tops of the peppers like little hats.

• Bake in the preheated oven for around 45 minutes. Or until the peppers are soft to the touch.

TIPS:

For a vegetarian option substitute the minced pork for the same amount of chopped mushrooms of your choice. Also add 50g of pine kernels and 50g feta cheese into the mix. For a vegan option, omit the feta.

Get ahead prepare the recipe up to step 5, cool, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours, then fill the peppers just before cooking.

These peppers can be served cold the next day.