Stuffed Pepper Soup

We love stuffed peppers in our house, but they can be tedious and a little more hands-on that I'd like sometimes.  That said, this soup cuts way down on the hands-on time, but doesn't cut down on the flavor.  Give it a try next time you want stuffed peppers without all the fuss!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 Tbsp. avocado oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 bell peppers, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 2 jars passata (48 oz. total)
• 1/8 tsp. cloves
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig fresh cilantro, plus leaves for garnish
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup rice
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 4 oz. Muenster cheese, grated, for serving

Serves 6
Cook Time: 1 hour

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add avocado oil, meanwhile sprinkle ground beef with salt and pepper.  When oil shimmers place hunk of ground beef, seasoned side down, into the center of the pan.  Sprinkle upturned side of ground beef with salt and pepper, resist moving the beef until the side touching the pan is browned and crispy, once browned, give the beef a flip and allow the second side to become crisped.  Once both sides are browned, break beef apart with spatula and let interior bits brown.  Once most of the beef is browned, scrap to perimeter of pan.
Add onion and pepper to the center of the pan and cook until softened (adding more oil if needed), add garlic and cook for one more minute.  Add passata and deglaze pan, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom.  Add cloves, cinnamon, salt and pepper, bay, sprig of cilantro, and chicken stock.  Bring soup to a boil, then add uncooked rice, lower heat so soup is simmering.  Cook until rice is cooked through (I use brown rice so it takes about 45 minutes); do not let cook for too long or rice will start to break down  once rice is cooked the soup is ready.
Serve immediately and top individual bowls with cheese.