Cheesy Binatog Stuffed Peppers

In a small bowl, combine ground beef, calamansi juice, soy sauce, and ground black pepper and mix until well combined. Set aside.

In a pan over medium heat, sauté the garlic and onions in oil until translucent and fragrant. Add the tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and bay leaf. Saute for a few more minutes.

Add tomato paste and cook for a few more minutes until the tomato paste gets dark and slightly toasted. Add the marinated ground beef and cook until meat has nicely browned. Remove from the pan, set aside, and cool.

Combine the sautéed beef mixture with the binatog and add both kinds of cheese. Stir until well combined. Set aside.

In the same pan used to cook the beef, prepare the sauce by deglazing with beef broth and adding tomato sauce, mozzarella, and ground black pepper. Cook and stir until well combined and the cheese has melted into the sauce.

Mix the binatog mixture into the mechado sauce.

Remove the stems and slice the bell peppers 3/4 from the top. Remove the core and strip away any seeds. Slice away a very thin slice of pepper from the bottoms so the peppers can stand upright. Poke about 4 tiny holes in the bottoms to let juices drain out.

Spoon the binatog mixture into each bell pepper and top with a sprinkle of grated keso de bola and grated mozzarella cheese.

Place the stuffed peppers in a baking pan drizzled with olive oil. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 190°C oven for about 30-45 minutes or until peppers are tender and cooked.