Wild Venison Mince Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

• 500 g wild venison mince
• 4 large red or yellow peppers, about 800 g total
• 150 g dried long-grain rice
• 20 ml olive oil
• 150 g onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 20 g tomato purée
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 100 ml water
• 100 g mature Cheddar, grated
• 10 g parsley, chopped
• 2 g fine salt
• 1 g ground black pepper

Method

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 200°C, or 180°C fan. Cook the rice according to its packet. Halve the peppers lengthways, keeping their stalks if possible, and remove seeds and white pith.

2. 2

   Brush the pepper halves with 5 ml oil and place cut-side up in a roasting dish. Roast for 15 minutes while making the filling.

3. 3

   Heat the remaining oil in a saucepan. Soften the onion for 5 minutes, then add garlic and mince and cook for 8 minutes, breaking it apart. Add tomatoes, purée, oregano, water, salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir and check the centre in several places with a clean food thermometer. The mince must be piping hot throughout, have no pink and remain at or above 70°C for 2 minutes.

4. 4

   Drain the freshly cooked rice if necessary and fold into the hot mince sauce. Spoon the filling into the softened peppers, mounding it slightly.

5. 5

   Sprinkle with Cheddar and bake for 20–25 minutes until the peppers are tender and the filling piping hot in the middle. Check a filled pepper reaches 70°C for 2 minutes.

6. 6

   Scatter with parsley and serve two halves per person. Rice, peppers and mince are prepared in parallel in the stated timing.