Ingredients
4 capsicums (peppers), about 150g each
250g onions
500g tomatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil
400g minced meat, half beef and half pork
4 teaspoons tomato purée
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
about 375ml (1½ cups) vegetable stock
15g (2 tablespoons) plain flour
4 tablespoons cream
a few sprigs of fresh oregano, chopped


Method
Wash the capsicums and dry them. Cut off and reserve the stalk end of each capsicum to make a "lid". Remove the seeds as well as the white membrane inside. Peel and chop the onions. Wash and dry the tomatoes. Dice three tomatoes.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan. Gently cook half the chopped onions until soft and golden brown. Add the minced meat and brown while stirring, breaking up any lumps with a fork. Mix in the diced tomatoes and half the tomato purée, season with salt and pepper, and leave to cool a little. Fill the prepared capsicums with the mixture. Put the "lid" back on each capsicum.

Cut the remaining tomatoes into pieces. Heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan and cook the remaining chopped onions gently until golden brown. Put the capsicums next to each other in the pan. Add the tomato pieces and 375ml vegetable stock. Cook the capsicums, covered, over a low heat for about 50 minutes. Then put the capsicums on a preheated serving dish.

For the sauce, pour the cooking liquid with the tomato pieces and onions through a sieve, or purée them with an electric hand held blender. Measure off 375ml (1½ cups), adding vegetable stock to make up the quantity if necessary. Stir in the remaining tomato purée and bring it all to the boil. Mix the flour with the cream and stir into the cooking liquid little by little, stirring constantly until it is all added. Cook gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Season the sauce with salt, pepper and oregano and serve with the stuffed capsicums.

Accompaniments: Rice, boiled potatoes in their skins and a mixed green salad.

Variation: Capsicums stuffed with chicken or turkey. Replace the minced meat with 400g very finely diced (or puréed) chicken or turkey fillet. Follow the recipe as described above, except season the sauce with 2 tablespoons of parsley instead of oregano.