Stuffed Peppers (Bosnian Punjena Paprikas)

Punjena Paprikas is a very hearty and popular Bosnian recipe. These delicious stuffed peppers uses some common spices found there like paprika and Vegeta. Serve this with some good ole mashed potatoes, it has plenty of sauce, so no gravy necessary. They would typically use a small pepper called a white pepper, if you can’t find them use red or yellow bell as a lovely substitute.

8 white peppers or 4 yellow or red bells
1½ lb ground beef
⅓ cup rice
1 large potato diced finely
1 small onion diced finely
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 egg
1 tsp. vegeta spice
1 tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground

For the Sauce:
2-3 Tbsp. cooking oil
2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. ground paprika
1 tsp. sea salt
½ cup tomato purée
4 cups water

Wash and dry the peppers, cut open the top and remove all the seeds and membrane, set aside.

Cook the rice halfway about 5 minutes, strain and set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the meat, spices, all the vegetables, rice, egg and parsley.

Stuff each pepper with the mixture.

Heat 3 Tbsp. of oil in a large stock pot. Lightly brown the peppers on each side, just a short time, until fragrant.

Remove the peppers from the pot and set aside, reserving the oil in the pot.

Add 2 Tbsp. to the warm oil and stir until smooth. Add the ground paprika and salt, stir for a minute, taking care that it does not burn. Add tomato purée and water, stir and let boil. Add in the peppers, turn the temperature down to medium, cover and simmer for 1 hour. If you are using large Bell peppers double the cooking time.

The sauce will reduce and thicken as the peppers cook.

Serve with a side of mashed potatoes and lots of sauce.