Stuffed Peppers

Steps

1. Blanch5 min
   the shells, in well-salted boiling water
   • bell peppers
   the hollowed peppers for four minutes, drained upside down — the par-boil that settles the dish's oldest argument: it takes the pepper from crunchy-raw to tender in the same forty minutes the filling needs, instead of the ninety it would demand raw
2. Sear8 min
   medium-high, beef browned, aromatics after
   • beef
   • onion
   • garlic
   beef browned in patches and broken up, onion softened in its fat, garlic last — the filling is fully cooked before it ever meets the pepper, which is what frees the bake to be short
3. Mix3 min
   off heat: rice + half the tomatoes + seasonings
   • rice
   • tomatoes
   everything folded together and tasted HERE — a bland filling cannot be rescued inside a pepper; this is the last moment adjustment is possible
4. Bake35 min
   375°F, peppers packed snug, remaining tomato around, cheese at minute 25
   the shells filled proud, seated upright in a dish just big enough to hold them (a snug dish is the structure — sprawling peppers slump), crushed tomato poured around, foil on for 25, then off with the cheese for the browned cap
5. Rest5 min
   parsley over
   • parsley
   briefly, so the filling sets from loose to sliceable — served with the pan's tomato spooned over, which was quietly becoming sauce the whole time