In winter there’s stuffed sour cabbage and in Summer, Punjene paprike. During the paprika season, the recipes are endless using this beautiful versatile vegetable. There are also many things you can stuff paprika with, such as cabbage, cheese and more. In this recipe I stuff paprika with rice and ground meat and cook it in tomato sauce. This is a very traditional and popular way to stuff paprika in the Balkans, with different variations according to various countries. This recipe is popular in Serbia and still there’s a lot of variations to it as well.
Punjene paprike is more than just a meal; it’s a comforting embrace of flavour and tradition. For someone who loves comfort food, this dish hits all the right spots. Whether you’re enjoying it at a gathering or preparing it just at home, this dish offers both nourishment and a taste of Balkan heritage. This dish surely brings comfort and joy to the table, it’s simple yet satisfying and it showcases how a few ingredients can create something truly special.
Tips for making great punjene paprike
- Ground meat: For this recipe, both a mix of pork and beef are used.
- Seasoning: Taste as you cook, to get to the saltiness you desire at the end of the meal. Taste both the filling and the sauce
- When filling the paprika, it is easier to use a spoon to go around so you have all the peppers filled the same
- Sauce: When making the sauce, don’t cook off the flower for too long as it will make the sauce turn out to be brown instead of red. As soon as you see the bubble, leave it for a few seconds and add your tomato juice.
- Also, once the sauce is smooth and of the right consistency, let it cook off just a few seconds then add it to the peppers.
- Roasting the peppers: The peppers usually roast for an hour to an hour and a half for the filling to be well cooked. When cooked, just open the lid so the peppers get a nice golden colour
Serving suggestions
- Good, crusty bread and a summer salad
- Mashed potatoes
- Polenta
Punjene paprike (Stuffed roasted peppers )
Ingredients
- 8 Peppers
- 500 g Ground meat
- 1 Onion
- 2 tsp Vegeta
- 2 tsp Sweet paprika
- ¾ Cup Rice
Tomato sauce
- 3 tbsp Flour
- ½ Cup Tomato juice
- Water
- Salt to season
Instructions
- Prepare the peppers by removing the core carefully and making sure theres space inside
- In a pan add diced onion to oil and saute
- Add minced meat and fry for a few minutes
- Add sweet paprika and Vegeta, mix
- Add the rice and mix it all up
- Arrange the peppers in a deep oven dish or pot
- Add the filling spoon by spoon to have the same in every pepper
- wipe the pot and add oil to prepare the sauce
- On medium to low heat, add flour to oil, mix it with the oil and let it cook for at least a minute and not more
- Add the tomato juice and mix
- Add water little by little while mixing to get smooth sauce
- Taste and season with salt. let the sauce cook just a minute or less
- Using a ladle add the sauce to the pot with peppers
- Pour over the remainoing sauce
- Put the pot (lid on) in an oven, preheated to 220℃
- Let the peppers cook for about an hour to 1 and a half hours, until the filling is soft.
- Remove the lid to give the pepper a nice golden colour
- Remove from the oven when the peppers are done and enjoy
- Best served with mashed potatoes
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