Stuffed peppers simmered in tomato sauce

Finely chop the parsley.

Peel and finely chop the garlic; finely chop the mozzarella.

Cook the rice halfway, about 7 minutes.

Combine the ground beef, garlic, mozzarella, parsley, a good pinch of salt, grated parmesan and the half-cooked rice; mix by hand. No egg: it does not need to bind, and the rice absorbs the moisture from the pepper and sauce.

Cut the tops off the peppers about a quarter of the way down to use as lids; cut out the seeds.

Cut a small slit in the base, not all the way through, so each pepper sits without wobbling.

Fill the peppers pretty full; the filling expands into the space under the lid. Put the lids on, lined up, and pin each with a couple of toothpicks.

Sear the peppers in the pot a couple at a time, rolling them around until they take a little color.

Add very thinly sliced yellow onion and cook only briefly.

Add a bottle of passata and half a bottle of water rinsed from it; add a little basil.

Cover and simmer slowly about an hour without turning the peppers; here 1 hour 15 minutes, then off the heat about 15 minutes.

Season the sauce with salt; remove the toothpicks before serving.