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Yellow peppers filled with beef and rice, simmered in tomato sauce

Punjene Paprike

594kcal
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Prep 35 minutes
Cook 1 hour 25 minutes
Resting 10 minutes
Total 2 hours 10 minutes
Pale sweet peppers loosely filled with raw beef, rice, onion, and paprika, then gently braised in a light tomato sauce. The rice cooks inside the peppers; check both tenderness and the filling temperature before serving.
Servings 4 servings
Course Main Course
Cuisine Bosnian

Ingredients

Peppers and Beef–Rice Filling
  • 2.2 lb pale yellow sweet pointed peppers cleaned weight after removing seeds and inner membranes; keep the tops
  • 1.1 lb ground beef 80% lean / 20% fat, raw
  • 2.8 oz long-grain white rice regular raw rice, rinsed and drained; not instant or brown rice
  • 5.3 oz onion finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic finely minced; clove size varies, so weigh for precision
  • 1 large egg about 50 g each without shells
  • 1 1/3 teaspoons fine salt for the filling; US measure assumes 6 g per teaspoon
  • 7/8 teaspoon ground black pepper for the filling; US measure is approximate
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons sweet paprika not hot or smoked paprika; US measure is approximate
Tomato Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sunflower oil rounded US measure; weigh for the exact formula
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 17.6 oz plain passata smooth strained tomatoes, preferably without added salt; not seasoned pasta sauce
  • 2 1/8 cups hot water initial sauce water
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt for the sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper scant; for the sauce; weigh for precision
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 2 bay leaves remove before serving
  • 5/8 cup additional hot water optional, up to the listed amount; add only as needed for the specified sauce height

Equipment

  • Wide heavy pot with lid at least 6 liters (about 6½ US quarts), with room to arrange the peppers upright; use additional comparable pots when scaling
  • Kitchen scale weigh peppers after cleaning
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Separate cutting boards and sharp knife keep raw beef and egg separate from vegetables and ready-to-eat food
  • Fine-mesh sieve for rinsing rice
  • Measuring jug and small whisk or spoon
  • Tongs or large serving spoon for lifting tender peppers
  • Food thermometer check the center of the meat filling
Start Cooking

Method

  1. Prepare the peppers. Wash the peppers. Cut a lid around each stem and reserve the tops. Carefully remove the seeds and pale membranes without piercing the walls. Weigh the cleaned peppers to match the ingredient list; the number of pods varies with size.
  2. Rinse rice and chop aromatics. Rinse the raw rice in a fine-mesh sieve until the water runs noticeably clearer, then drain thoroughly. Dice the onion into roughly ⅛-inch (3–4 mm) pieces and mince or press the garlic.
  3. Briefly cook the tomato paste. Heat the sunflower oil in the wide pot over medium heat. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for about 1 minute without letting it darken or scorch.
  4. Make the light sauce. Slowly stir in the passata and initial hot water. Add the sauce salt, sauce pepper, sugar, and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, cook gently for 5 minutes, then temporarily take the pot off the heat.
  5. Mix the raw filling. Combine the raw ground beef, drained raw rice, onion, garlic, egg, filling salt, filling pepper, and sweet paprika in a bowl. Mix with clean hands only until evenly distributed; do not knead into a dense paste. Wash hands, work surfaces, and utensils thoroughly after handling raw beef and egg.
  6. Fill loosely. Distribute the mixture loosely among the prepared peppers, leaving about ⅜ inch (1 cm) below each rim. Do not compress the mixture: the rice needs space to expand. Replace the reserved pepper tops.
  7. Arrange and check the level. Set the peppers close together and as upright as possible in the sauce. It should reach halfway to two-thirds up their height. Add some of the optional hot water only if needed for that level, without submerging or flooding the peppers.
  8. Return to a gentle simmer. Cover and warm over medium heat, allowing about 10 minutes to return to a gentle simmer. Reduce to low heat so the sauce bubbles lightly rather than boiling hard.
  9. Braise without stirring. Cook covered at a gentle simmer for 65–70 minutes. Do not stir between the peppers. If needed, carefully shift the covered pot by its handles to redistribute the liquid, without splashing or tilting it dangerously.
  10. Check the sauce. After about 60 minutes of braising, check the liquid level. If the sauce is reducing enough to catch on the bottom, add a little hot water at the side of the pot. Keep the heat gentle and replace the lid.
  11. Verify the filling. At about 65 minutes, check a particularly large pepper and other large pieces as needed. The rice must be fully tender, and the center of the beef filling must measure at least 160°F (71.1°C) with a clean thermometer. Do not rely on meat color, pepper softness, or a boiling sauce.
  12. Continue if needed. If the rice is firm or the filling has not reached the safe temperature, cover and cook for another 10–15 minutes, then check again. Thick-walled or larger peppers can need longer; both checks must pass before resting.
  13. Rest and serve. Remove the pot from the heat and rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves. Lift the peppers gently onto deep plates and divide the peppers and tomato sauce among the servings. Serve hot.

Nutrition

Calories594kcalCarbohydrates51.73gProtein30.28gFat31.14gSaturated Fat10.47gCholesterol135.25mgSodium1506.62mgFiber6.61gSugar10.32g

Notes

  • Yield and pepper weight. The standard recipe makes about eight medium peppers, or four main-dish servings. Count varies with size: cleaned pepper weight, not a fixed number of pods, determines the meat-to-rice-to-pepper balance. Divide the finished peppers and sauce into the stated servings.
  • Rice and filling. Use rinsed, well-drained raw regular long-grain white rice. Do not precook it, pack the filling firmly, or fill to the rim. Leave about ⅜ inch (1 cm) headspace in each pepper for the rice to expand. The egg belongs to this particular formula; other household versions may differ.
  • US measurements. US measures are rounded kitchen equivalents; Metric preserves the source formula. Fine salt assumes about 6 g per teaspoon. Spice spoon weights vary. Use the weighed amounts for the most precise result, especially the separate filling and sauce seasonings.
  • Pepper choice. Pale yellow sweet pointed stuffing peppers are the intended choice. Look in Balkan or Turkish markets; mild Cubanelle-type peppers can offer a similar thin-walled shape but are not the same cultivar. Avoid hot wax peppers. Thick-walled bell peppers may need more cooking time and can change the number of pieces and pot fit.
  • Liquid and scaling. Start with the measured sauce and add the optional extra hot water only if needed to reach halfway to two-thirds up the peppers. Pot shape determines the adjustment; it is not an instruction to dilute automatically at larger scales. At 2x or 3x, divide among two or three comparable wide pots rather than tightly stacking the original pot. Each pot needs its own liquid-level and doneness checks; time does not multiply mechanically.
  • Doneness. Use a thermometer in the center of the largest fillings: ground beef must reach at least 160°F (71.1°C). Rice must also be fully tender. Neither sauce bubbling, pepper softness, nor meat color alone proves the center is safe. If either check fails, continue covered for another 10–15 minutes and check again.
  • Storage. Keep raw assembled peppers covered in the refrigerator until cooking, and cook within the refrigerated raw ground beef storage window of 1–2 days. Divide cooked leftovers with sauce into shallow containers and refrigerate promptly within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F/32°C), at 40°F/4°C or below. Use within 2–3 days; reheat filling and sauce to 165°F/74°C. Freeze cooked portions with sauce, thaw in the refrigerator, then reheat thoroughly. No tested freezer-quality duration is specified here.
  • Nutrition estimate. Calculated independently from USDA SR Legacy raw-ingredient data for one-quarter of the full recipe, including all beef fat, the full 15 g of added oil, salt, and sauce. Generic yellow sweet pepper and unsalted tomato puree are proxies for the particular peppers and passata used. Brands, pepper variety, portion size, sauce eaten, and any discarded fat change the result. Bay leaves are removed; sides and toppings are excluded.