STUFFED BELL PEPPERS (VEGETARIAN OR BEEF)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C (375°F).
• Slice your peppers in half, cutting straight down through the stem. In other words, the peppers will then lay on their sides, not on their bottoms. Scoop out the seeds and any white bits inside the pepper so that you have a nice open dish to add the filling.
• Before starting the filling, it's a good time to start boiling water and let the rice cook while you are doing the next step.
• In a deep frying pan, sauté the pine nuts, onion and garlic on medium heat until semi-soft (the pine nuts should brown slightly).
• While they are sautéing, you can toast your cumin seeds. This is not a strictly necessary step but it adds a warm smoky taste to the dish that is unbeatable and it's very simple to do. Place a small saucepan or frying pan on a very hot burner. Pour the seeds in and shake the pan around as they toast. This needs less than a minute if your burner is hot. They will quickly darken and pop. As soon as this starts to happen, remove them from the heat.
• Now add the chopped mushrooms and tofu (if using) along with your spices, including the cumin seeds. If you're using ground beef, you might cook it separately and add it to the sauce at the end. Once the mushrooms are fairly soft (about 5 minutes), add in the tomatoes, corn, cooked rice, cumin seeds, and other spices. Stir this mixture together until well combined and let it cook a few minutes more.
• Pour a small coating of water into the bottom of your baking dish (a dish large enough to hold 6 pepper halves). Place the peppers inside the dish and pour the filling into each of them, rounding it off a bit at the top. Cover the dish with foil and place it in the oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the foil, raise the heat slightly, and return to the oven for another 15 minutes or until the tops start to brown and the peppers start to wither. You can place shredded cheese on in the last 5 minutes.