Hungarian Stuffed Peppers
Local name : Töltött paprika
Whole peppers filled with paprika-spiced rice and lentils, stood upright and poached in a sweet-sour tomato sauce.
Photo : andrusdevelopment · CC BY 2.0
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 55 min
- Total
- 80 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
Method
- Cut a lid from each pepper and pull out the core and seeds without piercing the walls. Keep the lids.
- Fry the onions in the oil for 8 minutes, add the mushrooms and cook for 8 minutes more, until their liquid has gone.
- Off the heat, stir in the paprika, then the raw rice, lentils, 1 tsp salt and plenty of pepper. Mix thoroughly.
- Fill the peppers only two-thirds full, since the filling swells a lot, and replace the lids.
- Stand them upright and snug in a casserole, then pour round the passata loosened with 300 ml water, along with the sugar, vinegar and a pinch of salt.
- Cover and simmer gently for 45 minutes, spooning sauce over the peppers halfway through.
- Check the rice is tender right through, rest for 10 minutes and serve each pepper in a pool of its sauce.
The tomato sauce here is meant to taste frankly sweet and sharp, so do not skip the sugar; it balances the acidity. Choose peppers that stand up on their own and the braise will go far more smoothly.
