Peperoni al Forno Ripieni con Riso e Provola Affumicata Lucana

Ingredients

• 4 large bell peppers, Lucana or red Corno di Toro variety preferred; halved lengthwise, deseeded
• For the filling
• 200 g short-grain rice, parboiled to 70% doneness, drained
• 1 medium onion, finely diced, sautéed
• 150 g provola affumicata, smoked stretched-curd cheese, diced
• 80 g stale bread, crusts removed, soaked in water and firmly squeezed
• 60 g pitted black olives, roughly chopped
• 30 g capers, rinsed
• 1 medium ripe tomato, deseeded and finely diced
• 10 g fresh basil, leaves torn
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling over the filled peppers; plus extra for the dish

Method

1. 1
   Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil. Add the rice and cook until it reaches 70% doneness — tender at the outer edge but with a firm, chalky core at its centre. Drain immediately and spread on a tray to halt cooking. The grain must resist the thumbnail; if it yields cleanly, it has cooked too far.
2. 2
   Warm a film of olive oil in a frying pan over moderate heat. Add the diced onion and sweat until soft, translucent and without colour, 8–10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
3. 3
   In a large bowl, combine the parboiled rice, sautéed onion, diced provola affumicata, the squeezed stale bread torn into small pieces, chopped olives, capers, diced tomato and torn basil. Season assertively with salt — the pepper shell contributes none. Mix until the filling coheres loosely. Taste: it should be savoury, briny and herbal, with visible pockets of cheese throughout.
4. 4
   This is the step on which the dish lives or dies. Pack the filling generously into each pepper half, mounding it slightly above the rim. The rice must be at exactly 70% doneness at this point: under-cooked and it will not absorb the pepper's released juices and set; over-cooked and it will turn gluey as it bakes. Drizzle each filled half with olive oil. Arrange in a lightly oiled baking dish, filled side up, without crowding.
5. 5
   Place the dish, uncovered, in an oven pre-heated to 200 °C. Bake for 35–40 minutes. At 25–30 minutes, drizzle a little additional olive oil over the filling to restore sheen. The dish is ready when the pepper walls are tender and beginning to char at their edges, the provola has melted throughout the filling, and the surface of the rice is lightly coloured. The filling should hold its shape when the dish is tilted slightly.
6. 6
   Remove from the oven and allow to rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes before serving. The filling will firm further as it cools; the pepper juices absorbed during baking will have flavoured the rice fully. The filling should smell of sweet caramelised pepper, smoke and basil.