Stuffed Green Peppers - Papryka Nadziewana - Papryka Faszerowana

Since I am doing the Pantry Challenge this month, I went through my freezer and found a couple of family sized ground beef packages. 

I decided to make Stuffed Green Peppers, which is a very quintessential Polish dish and which also has variations in Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, etc.



Ingredients:

6 Bell Peppers
2 lbs. Ground Meat (I used Beef this time, but you could use pork, veal, turkey, or a combination of any of these)
2 cups Rice (I prefer to use Brown Rice)
1/2 Sweet Onion, diced
Tomatoe, diced and juice reserved for use in sauce
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 clove of Garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Curley Parsley, a small bunch chopped, if you like


Caramelize the Onion in Butter.  Towards the end, toss in the garlic to cook as well.

Remove the top of the Peppers and cut out seeds and veins.

Mix all the ingredients together.

Stuff the peppers evenly and cover with tops.

Steam for about 1/2 an hour until insides reach 160 degrees F.

Or, you cook bake in casserole dish with an inch of water in bottom and covered. 

Bake at 375 degrees F for about 50 minutes, until inside is 160 degrees F.






This dish freezes very well for nights when you just don't want to or have time to cook.

You could also make the dish using cooked buckwheat grouts or barley instead of rice.  Traditionally, I have always seen this dish with white rice, however, I substitute it for brown rice as brown rice is much healthier. 

This dish can also be made vegetarian style by replacing the meat with more grains, and in doing so, would be very inexpensive.

I have also had this dish with cheese inside, mixed with the meat or vegetarian filling.

The Sauce:

The traditional Sauce for this dish is either Tomatoe Sauce (like in the can) or a tablespoon of Tomatoe Paste mixed with 2 cups of water and heated until thickened.

I decided to make a different sauce tonight, just for a break from the normal dish.

1 Can of Tomatoes
1 tablespoon of Butter
1 tablespoon of Flour
2 cups of Beef Broth (but you could use vegetable broth as well)

Make a Rue with the butter and flour, by melting the butter completely, adding the flour and whisking together until no longer white.  Add the tomatoes and broth and mix until thick and bubbly.  Keep cooking on medium heat for another 2 minutes. 


This gravy could be used also on mashed potatoes or noodles served on the side.

Smacznego!


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