Ingredients
11 small sweet peppers (ideally yellow Hungarian or small bell peppers)
250 g ground beef
250 g ground beef
⅔ cup short‑grain white rice (uncooked)
3 tbsp vegetable oil (for filling and cooking)
2 small yellow onions, finely diced
4 large ripe tomatoes, blended (or equivalent tomato puree)
5 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp dried dill
3 dried bay leaves
2¼ tsp salt
1½ tsp black pepper
Sauce & Finishing:
½ cup sour cream (to swirl into sauce at end)
2 cups water (or more to cover peppers halfway)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 175 °C (350 °F). Clean peppers: cut off tops, remove seeds and membranes. Trim a small base so they stand upright. Arrange stuffed peppers snugly in a deep, oven‑safe pot.
Mix filling: in a bowl combine ground beef, rice, diced onions, parsley, dill, paprika, salt and pepper. Stuff each pepper fully.
Whisk together tomato base: blend fresh tomatoes or use puree, then stir in tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Pour over the stuffed peppers until the liquid reaches about halfway up.
Cover the pot with lid or foil and bake for 90 minutes. Then uncover and continue baking another 45–60 minutes until peppers are tender and sauce slightly reduced. A fork should pierce the pepper easily.
Stir in sour cream into sauce just before serving (optional swirl), then serve hot with extra sour cream on top and crusty bread for dipping.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Category: Main course
