Recipe for peppers stuffed with meat - step by step

Do you remember the hot summer days when the house smelled of delicious food and the tables were filled with dishes that brought the family together? Peppers stuffed with meat are exactly the kind of comfort food that brings back the best childhood memories.

Whether you eat them warm with a dollop of sour cream, or cold, telling yourself you're just having a taste (until you finish a whole pepper), this recipe for meat-stuffed peppers is sure to become a family favorite your. You don't need to be an experienced chef to prepare them - once you try them, peppers stuffed with meat will be part of your culinary repertoire and will bring a touch of nostalgia and flavor to every meal.

Required ingredients

• 1 kg minced meat
• 2 large onions
• 1 cup rice
• dill, parsley to taste
• salt, pepper
• tomato sauce or broth
• water or bone broth for gravy
• sour cream for serving

Preparation of peppers and filling

To prepare delicious stuffed peppers, first visit the store's vegetable section and order online red bell peppers, sweeter than the green ones that some consider too bitter. Get more - it's no trouble if you have some left over - they make a great snack the next day for breakfast, alongside a slice of bread with cheese.

Remove the spines (and keep them) and seeds, then crimp the top of each pepper to create space for the stuffing. After washing them well, leave them face down to drain completely.

Although bell peppers are preferred for the stuffed pepper recipe with meat, you should know that you can also use kapia peppers or gogoșari peppers. The bell peppers usually have more space available for filling.

While the peppers are draining, half boil the rice. Then, in a pan, saute a sliced ​​onion or small fish in a spoonful of oil and a little water, over low heat. You can also add a little tomato sauce to give the filling more flavor. After the onion becomes translucent and soft, add it to the minced meat mixture.

For the stuffed pepper recipe, it is best to say that using a combination of beef and pork is ideal, but you can achieve excellent results with just minced pork or poultry. Add the parboiled rice, the sautéed onion, then sprinkle fresh herbs, such as dill and parsley, along with pepper and salt to taste. If the stuffed pepper mixture seems too thick, gradually pour in warm water until it reaches the desired consistency.

Stuff the peppers with this mixture, being careful not to overcrowd them, and seal them with the spines to keep the stuffing inside. Place them in a tray or saucepan, either lying down or face up.

Methods of cooking stuffed peppers

If you prefer to mince the meat at home, remember a secret: for the composition of stuffed peppers, use beef and pork (fattier pieces, thighs are very good, but also pork breast or neck). Chop the beef first, then pass it through the mincer once more together with the pork and some of the slightly stewed onions.

In some recipes for meat-stuffed peppers, they are lightly fried on the open side after being dredged in flour. This little trick helps to keep the composition intact during cooking, so that it remains delicious and well-preserved until serving. In other recipes, they are fried on all sides in oil, without flouring them.

Preparing the tomato sauce

Prepare the sauce in which the stuffed peppers will cook by combining stewed onions with tomato sauce or tomato paste. Adjust the consistency with water or bone broth so that you get enough so that the peppers are halfway submerged in the pot. Sprinkle the rest of the greens for color.

Let the sauce come to a boil, then pour it over the peppers. Cover the pot, put it in the oven and let the peppers simmer on low for about an hour and a half, turning them occasionally to cook them evenly.

The sauce in which the peppers are boiled can also be made, says Radu Anton Roman in his book "Romanian Cuisine, Wines and Customs", with the following mixture: a liter of meat soup, a glass of white wine, 100 ml of thick broth of tomatoes.

Serving and storing stuffed peppers

When the peppers are ready, serve them warm with sour cream. Elsewhere, the recipe for meat-stuffed peppers uses a broth and cream sauce for serving that you pour in a drizzle over the dish.

"If not all the stuffed peppers are eaten immediately after cooking, place them in a covered container and keep them in the refrigerator for no more than 3 days. Fortunately, they are one of those Romanian dishes that enrich their flavor after a longer stay in the covered pot."

Variations and adaptations of the meat stuffed peppers recipe

I showed you above the recipe for peasant stuffed peppers, as they are made in most areas of Romania. But stuffed peppers are found in the cuisine of many peoples, from Spain to India.

The recipe for stuffed peppers from Spain uses Piquillo peppers and a filling of Manchego cheese and chicken in red sauce. In the Middle East, peppers are also stuffed with a combination of meat and rice, but are seasoned with mint, coriander, thyme and sometimes cinnamon.

India enriches the recipe for meat-stuffed peppers by adding potatoes and spices like turmeric and coriander.

Certainly, these dishes are also extremely tasty. However, for Romanians, the recipe for stuffed peppers like at home - with minced meat, rice, onion, tomato sauce and fresh greens from the garden - is the one that immediately awakens the appetite.

But it's not a bad thing, the appetite is easily disturbed even when you are in foreign lands. A&S Market delivers all the ingredients needed for stuffed peppers anywhere in the UK in no time. So you can recreate the authentic taste of your childhood effortlessly, no matter where you are.