Croatian Stuffed Peppers In Tomato Sauce
Summer in Croatia begins when sarma, queen of winter, is replaced by the queen of summer - stuffed peppers in tomato sauce. This is one of those traditional Croatian meals exactly as my grandmother made it for decades.
Ingredients
For stuffed peppers:
- 12-14 yellow bell peppers middle size
- 500 g minced meat 50% pork and 50% beef
- 1 red onion middle size
- 1 garlic clove
- 40 g white rice uncooked
- 40 g breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 60 g bacon
- 10 g salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika powder
- ½ teaspoon hot paprika powder
For tomato-based sauce:
- 1,5-2 tablespoon lard
- 1,5-2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 liter tomato passata
- 1,5-2 liter tap water
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar if necessary
Instructions
- Wash the peppers, let them dry, and cut a small opening around the stem with a sharp pairing knife. After that, remove the rest of the seeds and white pith.
- In a large bowl, add all the ingredients for the filling and gently mix the filling with your hands or a spoon. You can add 2 tablespoons of sparkling water to make the meat juicier and softer. Fill each pepper to about 3/4, so that there is a little space to the opening where the stem was. If they are overfilled, they break more easily, and the filling can fall out.
- In a large pot, make the roux by melting the lard and adding flour; stir until light yellow, then gradually add the tomato passata. Stir constantly.
- Add some water and salt and cover until the soup begins to boil. Put the stuffed peppers in the pot, cover, and let them cook on low heat for 1 to 1.5 hours.
- Toward the end of cooking, check the taste of the soup and if it seems too sour, add some brown sugar and stir well.
- Serve with creamy mashed potatoes or homemade bread. Dobar tek!
Notes
- Before cooking, the stuffed peppers can be briefly fried on all sides in a little fat in a pan for an even more pronounced flavor.
- You can add a few tablespoons of sparkling water to the mixture for stuffed peppers to make the filling softer when cooked.
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Nutrition
Serving: 1portionCalories: 290kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 24gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.5gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 86mgSodium: 869mgPotassium: 414mgFiber: 4gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 882IUVitamin C: 161mgCalcium: 52mgIron: 3mg
Nutritional information provided is an estimate based on ingredients data and should be used for informational purposes only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on factors such as portion size, preparation methods and ingredients used.