Punjena paprika

Punjena paprika is a dish made of peppers, stuffed with a mix of meat and rice in tomato sauce, the ingredients consisting of green or red capsicums, eggs, spices, salt, tomato, minced meat and rice.

The dish is called punjena paprika in Serbo-Croatian, Polneti Piperki in Macedonian, Plnená Paprika in Slovak, and Töltött paprika in Hungarian, meaning "stuffed peppers". The dish is popular in Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro. There are also many variations of the dish across the Balkans.

The dish

The meat, usually ground beef (pork and beef in Croatia and Slovenia), is mixed with rice, diced red onions, salt, herbs and spices, like garlic, ground black pepper, ground paprika, parsley or rosemary. The filling can sometimes contain mushrooms, mixed meats or cabbage.

The pepper tops are removed and the peppers are washed, seeded and loosely stuffed with the meat mixture and laid out in a large pot (tops facing up).

Enough water is added to completely cover the peppers. Spices like bay leaves, black peppercorn and other vegetables, like celery, cabbage and a whole onion may be added.

The stew is boiled until the peppers become visibly soft on the outside and the water reduces down to half. The thickening agent for the gravy is browned roux or flour and water. The heat is reduced and tomato paste, or even pasta sauce, can be added...
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