Punjene paprike

Ingredients

Peppers

• 12medium peppers, preferably the pale green pointed kind
• or 8 large bell peppers

Filling

• 600 gminced beef and pork mixed
• 150 grice, rinsed
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 3 clovesgarlic
• 1egg
• 2 tbspchopped parsley
• 1 tspsweet paprika
• 1 tspsalt
• black pepper

Sauce

• 700 mlpassata or crushed tomatoes
• 500 mlstock or water
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 1 tbspflour
• 2 tbspoil
• 1 tspsugar
• 1bay leaf
• salt

To serve

• mashed potato
• or crusty bread
• with soured cream

Directions

1. Cut around the stem and pull it out with the seed core attached, keeping the pepper whole. Do not cut the tops off entirely, since a whole pepper with a small opening holds its filling far better.
2. Use roughly a quarter as much rice as meat by weight. Rice swells to about three times its volume, so too much bursts the peppers open and gives a stodgy filling. Rinse the rice first to wash off surface starch. Combine the meat, rinsed rice, chopped onion, garlic, egg, parsley, paprika, salt and pepper.
3. Mix it thoroughly with your hands rather than a spoon. Season it firmly, since the peppers and sauce around it dilute everything considerably. Fry a teaspoon of the mixture and taste it before stuffing anything, which is the only way to check the seasoning.
4. Fill each pepper loosely, leaving a good centimetre of space at the top. Do not pack the filling in tightly, since the rice expands and a tightly packed pepper splits open in the pot. Stand the peppers upright in a heavy pot, packed closely enough to hold each other up. Standing them upright keeps the filling in, and a pepper on its side empties itself into the sauce.
5. Make a light roux with the oil and flour, cooking it for two minutes without browning. That flour thickening is traditional here and it gives the sauce the body it needs to coat the peppers.
6. Whisk in the tomato paste, then the passata and stock. Season it and add the bay leaf and a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes are sharp. The sauce should come about three-quarters of the way up the peppers rather than covering them.
7. Bring it to a bare simmer, cover, and cook for an hour to an hour and a half. Keep it at the barest simmer, since a hard boil knocks the peppers about and they burst. Do not stir the pot at all, and shake it gently by the handles if anything sticks.
8. Cut into one to check rather than guessing, and give it another twenty minutes if the rice is not there yet. Now let the pot stand off the heat for twenty minutes before serving. Serve them with mashed potato or bread, and a spoonful of soured cream.

Technique

• The rice goes in raw so it absorbs the meat juices and sauce.
• Fill the peppers loosely, since the rice swells and splits a packed one.
• The sauce comes three-quarters up rather than covering them.

Substitutions

• Bell peppers if the thin-walled pointed kind are unavailable.
• Beef alone in place of a beef and pork mixture.

Variations

• Made with a smoked meat added to the sauce.
• Sarma, the same filling rolled in cabbage or vine leaves.
• Made vegetarian, with rice, mushroom and vegetables.

Frequently asked questions

What is Punjene paprike?

Punjene paprike is a main from Croatia: peppers stuffed with meat and rice in tomato sauce.

How long does Punjene paprike take to make?

Punjene paprike takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Punjene paprike?

Yes, within limits. Bell peppers if the thin-walled pointed kind are unavailable. Beef alone in place of a beef and pork mixture.

What is the most important thing to get right in Punjene paprike?

Cut around the stem and pull it out with the seed core attached, keeping the pepper whole. Do not cut the tops off entirely, since a whole pepper with a small opening holds its filling far better.