Cut a smaller inner circle around the stem of the peppers. Remove the stem piece and discard. The idea is to leave an edge which will make handling the pepper under the grill much easier. It will maintain its shape better.

Fry in butter the onion and then the garlic
Add the mince and cook till almost browned
Season with paprika, tabasco, cloves, cumin and cinnamon
Add the diced tomato, tomato paste, apple and raisins and cook 10 minutes.
Allow to cool to <50° and crumble through the Fetta cheese
Loosely mix and refrigerate

Grill and char the peppers under a grill for 5-6 minutes a side till well charred and blistered. Maybe 20 mins
Place inside plastic bags and seal to sweat for 40 minutes.
Peel off the outer skin. Trim the top to level with scissors and clean out the inside.

Dice the top bits of the peppers you just removed with the scissors and add to the cold mince
Stir sour cream and slivered almonds into the cold mince.
Fill the pepper to 1 cm below the top. If split support with kitchen string
Set into a baking dish and bake at 180° for 40 minutes.

To a small saucepan add the cream, almond meal, raisins and nuts. Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes till thickened.

Set the pepper in a rice blanket in a snug bowl

Top the pepper with the sauce and bake till bubbling. 4-5 minutes

Quick Rice: In a medium saucepan cook the rice in the butter for 3 minutes stirring constantly. Add the hot chicken stock and boil 13 minutes uncovered till absorbed stirring occassionally. Sit for 10 minutes before using. This is one recipe where a bought stock is not too salty. In fact its perfect.

4 Bell Peppers (Capsicum any colour)

1 Onion chopped
4 cloves Garlic crushed and chopped
50g Butter
400g Beef Mince
Paprika, Cloves, Cinnamon, Cumin
Tabasco Sauce (more the better)
2 Tomatoes (peeled and diced)
1 Apple (diced 1cm pieces)
100g Raisins
2 Tbs Tomato Paste
50g Fetta Cheese

3 Tbs Sour Cream
20g Slivered Almonds

300ml Cream
1 cup Almond meal
30g Nuts crushed coarsely (walnuts)
30g Raisins

200g Rice
2 Tbs Butter
600ml Chicken stock (hot)

To peel the skin off a tomato blanch in  boiling water for 30secs and then put into cold water. Let stand 10 minutes and peel off the skin

In the 70s and 80s there was a great restaurant called Tortillas in Charlotte St Brisbane. The owner was a Spanish gent who was wider than he was tall. I saw him turn sideways and suck in his stomach so he could fit through the doorway at reception to the kitchen. Exactly the build of someone addicted to great food. And to this day I rate his menu and food as unrivalled anywhere I have been.

This recipe is my take on what he had on the menu as a Chillies En Nogada. It wasn't an authentic Chillies En Nogada but more a stuffed pepper. Doesn't matter, just a superb dish. It can be mild and sweet or crank up the tabasco. At least add more tabasco than you might think as other elements act to counter the hotness.

Make a seasoned rice blanket that the pepper sits into to make a complete dish in a bowl. Use large peppers for a main meal or small peppers for a starter. Prepare to the ready to bake stage a few hours or even a day ahead. The pepper stem will cause a bitter flavour. It must be removed before charring the peppers.