Beef and Cheddar Stuffed Peppers

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose large, squat peppers weighing about 250 g each that fit upright in the basket with clearance above them. Wash them, slice a thin cap from each and remove the seeds and membranes, leaving the bases intact. Discard the stems and finely dice the edible cap flesh. Drain and rinse the beans. Grate the cheddar.

2. 2

   Preheat the empty air fryer to 190°C/374°F for 3 minutes. Put the 90%-lean ground beef, diced pepper caps, 5 ml olive oil, cumin, paprika, salt and black pepper in an air-fryer-safe metal dish approximately 18 cm wide and 5 cm deep. Break up the beef and spread it evenly.

3. 3

   Place the dish in the basket and cook at 190°C/374°F for 16–18 minutes, breaking up and stirring the beef after 5 and 10 minutes. Check several parts with a food thermometer: the beef must reach at least 71°C/160°F. Continue cooking in 2-minute intervals if necessary.

4. 4

   Carefully remove the hot dish to a heatproof surface. Stir in the beans, frozen corn, tomato sauce and 50 g cheddar. Rub the pepper exteriors with the remaining 5 ml oil, then divide the filling evenly among them, gently pressing it into the cavities and mounding it slightly if needed.

5. 5

   Set the air fryer to 180°C/356°F. Place two stuffed peppers upright directly in the basket, in a single layer with space between them. Cook for 20–24 minutes, rotating each pepper halfway through. Check that the peppers are tender and the centre of each filling reaches at least 74°C/165°F; add time in 2-minute intervals if needed. Top each pepper with 12.5 g reserved cheddar and cook at the same temperature for 2 minutes to melt it.

6. 6

   Transfer the first two peppers to a serving plate and cover with an inverted heatproof bowl while the second batch cooks. Cook the remaining two peppers at 180°C/356°F for 20–24 minutes, rotating halfway through and checking that each centre reaches 74°C/165°F. Divide the remaining 25 g cheddar between them and cook for another 2 minutes.

7. 7

   Serve one whole stuffed pepper per person. Allow approximately 73 minutes of appliance time for preheating, cooking the beef and cooking both pepper batches; additional time may be needed to reach the thermometer targets.