Elevate your dinner with Czech-style stuffed peppers
Stuffed peppers with meat served with a simple tomato sauce are a common dish in Czech homes. Baked vegetables without cheese or béchamel are delicious and light and filling. With the addition of tomatoes, they resemble Polish stuffed cabbage rolls.
There are a few vegetables that can't be hollowed out, stuffed, and baked in the oven. Peppers are an obvious choice, but stuffed mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, potatoes, and even onions turn out just as delicious. In pre-war cuisine, stuffed celery was also very popular.
Inspiration for stuffed vegetables
The best thing about stuffed vegetables is putting meat or a vegetarian filling inside. The dish changes depending on the additions and tastes different each time, so it never gets boring. Peppers with rice and meat are a classic, but it's also worth trying zucchini with vegetables and feta or eggplant with buckwheat and tomatoes.
Larger portions of stuffed vegetables can successfully replace the main course. Meanwhile, smaller vegetables like mushrooms with spinach and ricotta or tomatoes with tuna are perfect as an appetizer or snack for evening gatherings. You can serve not only tomato sauce with stuffed peppers and other vegetables but also a lighter dill sauce or cold sauces based on Greek yogurt and mayonnaise.
Recipe for stuffed peppers with tomato sauce
You can stuff peppers in two ways: cut off the top and hollow out the insides or cut them in half to get more smaller portions.
Ingredients:
- 4 large peppers,
- 125 mL of rice,
- 2 onions,
- 450 g of ground meat – preferably pork and beef,
- 2 tablespoons of butter,
- 3 garlic cloves,
- tomato passata,
- a pinch of sugar,
- salt and pepper to taste,
- ground paprika,
- chopped parsley for garnish.
Instructions:
- Cut off the tops of the peppers (stem side) and remove the seed pods. Place them in a baking dish.
- Cook the rice according to the package instructions.
- In a pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and sauté 1 finely chopped onion until translucent. Add the ground meat, mix with onions, and season with salt, pepper, and ground paprika.
- Combine the meat mixture with the cooked rice. Stuff the prepared peppers with this filling. Place them in an oven preheated to 180°C for 15 minutes.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan again and sauté the second finely chopped onion. Add garlic sliced into thin slices. Once they begin to release aroma, pour in the tomato passata. Season with a pinch of sugar, salt, and freshly ground pepper. Heat over low heat until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.
- Remove the peppers from the oven and pour the sauce over them. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
