If you are looking for one of the more authentic dishes when it comes to Romanian cooking, these stuffed peppers are definitely a must try. Whenever I make Romanian stuffed peppers, I always feel the nostalgia that takes me right back to the summers spent at my grandma’s house. Whilst in my family this wasn’t a recipe cooked very often, my grandma’s neighbour and best friend, Mrs Puiu, would always share her stuffed peppers with us. I remember the daily chats over the fence between my grandma and Mrs Puiu. At some point, Mrs Puiu would disappear into the kitchen, only to bring back deep plates filled with steamy stuffed peppers which she would pass to us over the fence. I knew when Mrs Puiu was making stuffed peppers as the smell from her kitchen would travel into our yard, where I was playing. And I always knew that she would share them with my and my grandma. Mrs Puiu lost her husband a long time before I was born, and she developed a very close friendship with my grandma, who lost my grandfather in 2008. They were inseparable, always visiting each other or just chat over the fence.
Jump to RecipeDepending on the season, the peppers were either stuffed with meat, as in the recipe below, or only with rice. Fasting for religious reasons was taken very seriously in Romania when I was a child, and that meant no meat, dairy or sugar.
The Romanian stuffed peppers are big on flavour and really pack a punch. They are a main meal and are either served on their own, or with a side dish of polenta. I like them with creamy polenta because of the delicious sauce.
The peppers are stuffed with a mixture of rice, pork, and veal all cooked down in a tomato sauce. You have wonderful herbs and spices that really flavour the whole dish and bring everything together. I always serve them with a dollop of sour cream on top, to balance the richness of the sauce.
This is such a wonderful dish to make and I can’t wait to share with you how to make the Romanian Stuffed Peppers. You have to make this delicious dish!
Ingredients Needed to Make the Romanian Stuffed Peppers
You don’t need many ingredients to make this wonderful recipe of Romanian stuffed peppers. The main ingredient is the bell pepper, which is available year round in the shops. Try to buy peppers with a flatish bottom, so that they can easily stay upright in the pot, whilst cooking. Also, make sure you buy peppers that have similar sizes so that they all cook at the same time.
For the stuffing I usually use a mixture of pork and veal minced meat, but you can choose whatever meat you like best. The more fat the meat has, the more flavoursome the dish will be, so my advice is to stay away from the “reduced fat” marked meat. For the best mince, go to your local butcher rather than buy it from the supermarket.
Recipe Notes and tips
Sometimes recipes can be simple, other times they can appear a little complex. This is where I hope to help and guide you through this recipe with some helpful recipe notes and tips. Romanian cooking is wholesome and full of flavour, and I want to help you create that. Here are some of the helpful recipe notes and tips that will help with this Romanian Stuffed Peppers.
- I mentioned earlier that you should look for sour cream with at least 18% fat content. This is because its much creamier and tastes so much better than the normal supermarket sour cream. The texture of a fatty sour cream is thick, the same as the one of creme fraiche. You can find good sour cream in the Polish cold section at Sainsbury’s or Asda. Or you could try one of the Turkish, Polish and Romanian shops in your area.
- Make sure the stock and tomato sauce are covering the peppers before you bring the mixture to a boil. This is what will help cook the filling of the Romanian Stuffed Peppers.
Variations to Try
I appreciate that we all like to vary recipes from time to time, and often it might be that you want to know of any substitute ingredients or any additions or changes that you can make that will work well. So here are some of the variations to try when it comes to these Romanian Stuffed Peppers.
- For the best taste make sure you serve hot stuffed peppers hot with sour cream on top.
- If you want to try a different minced meat then beef works really well with this dish. You could also try it with chicken or turkey mince if you wish.
- If you want to make a vegetarian version you could leave the meat aside and replace it with rice. The vegetarian version of the stuffed peppers is very popular in Romania during the fasting periods before Christmas and Easter.
Romanian Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 5-6 Bell peppers
- 250 gr minced pork
- 250 gr minced veal
- 1 large yellow onion
- 1 large egg
- 500 gr tomatoes
- 50 gr rice
- 1 tsp sugar
- 50 ml tomato juice
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp dill
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- salt, pepper
- sour cream for serving
Instructions
- The first thing you will need to do is prepare your bell peppers. Take the core and the seeds out of the peppers, making sure they remain intact.
- Next up, fry the onion in the oil until it’s golden, then put it aside.
- Chop the herbs and mix them with the meat, cooked onions, rice, eggs, sugar, salt, pepper, and 50ml tomato juice.
- Mix well and then stuff the peppers with the mixture. Seal the top of the peppers with a slice of tomato, and then fry them lightly on each side. Be gentle so that the filling doesn’t come out.
- Now you will need a pot that can fit all of the peppers within it and arrange them one by one next to the other, standing up. You will want the opening facing up.
- Blend the rest of the fresh tomatoes and cover the peppers with them. Boil the stock and add the hot stock over the peppers. You need to make sure it covers them.
- Add the salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then cover with a lid and simmer for an hour.
- Serve with a spoon full of sour cream on top alongside polenta or on their own, with crusty bread to dip in the sauce.
FAQs
There will always be questions about recipes so I hope to answer some of them below. However, please get in touch if you have a question that isn’t covered here or in the recipe notes section.
Can you make this ahead of time?
Yes, you can! As these peppers will last for a few days you could make these up a day or two ahead before you need them. Perfect as part of a dinner party menu. In fact, the more you leave them, the better the flavour will be.
How do I store the Romanian Stuffed Peppers?
These peppers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can also freeze the stuffed peppers if you wish. Make sure they are completely cooled before adding them to an airtight container and storing them in the freezer. Defrost and then heat up on the stove or in the oven before enjoying them. If you are using pork or chicken meat, make sure that you reheat the dish thoroughly and check it with a meat thermometer.
Are there other ways I could cook the Romanian Stuffed Peppers?
As it does require to be simmered on the stove for an hour, another cooking method that lends itself well to this recipe is to use a slow cooker. You can get up to the stage where you are covering the peppers and instead transfer the peppers and sauce to a slow cooker and cook on high for four hours or low for 6-8 hours.
I hope you enjoy these Romanian Stuffed Peppers.
For more inspiration of traditional Romanian cooking, check out the recipes below:
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