Stuffed bell peppers are a staple of cuisines of several southeast-European countries, including Croatia. This recipe, originally published in Croatian, presents how I make them. The translation will hopefully help this lovely Croatian dish reach a wider audience.
In Croatia we typically use the bell peppers of the “babura” variety, but other kinds of bell peppers will do nicely, as long as they are of reasonable size – at least 2 inches in diameter, and 4 inches or more in height.
STUFFED BELL PEPPERS
6 portions
preparation time: about 2 hours, largely unattended
1 onion, chopped
olive oil
salt, pepper
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp paprika
1 pound ground meat, mix of beef and pork
1/2 cup rice
10 bell peppers of medium size
2-3 cups tomato purée (passata di pomodoro)
1 cup wine
water as needed
- Put the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is warm, add onions and cook until soft, about five minutes. When the onions are nearly done, add the garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, and other spices if you like (e.g. ginger, nutmeg, or a dash of cumin). Do not overdo the spices.
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While the onions are cooking, wash the bell peppers, cut off the stems, and shake out the seeds. Put the ground meat in a bowl and add the cooked onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste (feel free to try it, a bit of raw meat won’t harm you), add the rice, and mix well.
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Stuff the bell peppers with the meat mixture, trying not to pack the meat too tightly. Arrange the peppers in a cooking pot, if possible so that they stand upright holding each other; leave as little room as possible between them. If the peppers do not fit in one layer, cook them in two smaller pots.
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Mix the tomato purée and wine and season with salt. Pour the mixture over the peppers in the pot and add water until the peppers are almost fully submerged. If you are using two pots, equally divide the purée and wine between them and then add water. While the peppers are cooking, do not stir them, just occasionally shake the whole pot. Cook for an hour and a half on low heat.
Let the cooked peppers rest for at least an hour. Serve with mashed potatoes and some crusty bread.
Do not throw away the puree in which the peppers were cooking. If some remains uneaten, freeze it and use it as stock for a future dish.