Töltött paprika

Ingredients

• 8bell pepperfor stuffing, cored
• 1⅓ lbGround meatpork, for the filling
• 3½ ozRicepre-cooked or cooked, binds the filling
• 2onionfinely diced, sautéed
• 2 clovesgarliccrushed
• 1eggraw, to bind the filling
• ½ cupsour creammakes the filling juicy
• 3½ ozcheeseTrappista, in the filling or on top
• 2 tspsweet paprikasweet
• 1 bunchparsleyfinely chopped, for filling and garnish
• 2 tbspOil or lardfor sautéing and drizzling
• saltto taste
• black pepperground, to taste
• 4¼ cupsTomato passatafor the braising sauce (optional)
• 1 tbsptomato pastebriefly fried along (optional)
• 1 tbspsugarbalances the acidity of the tomato sauce (optional)
• 8potatoesside dish, boiled in the skin (optional)
• 11½ ozChicken liverfinely chopped, filling instead of ground meat (optional)
• 1Bread rollsoaked in milk, squeezed out, as binder (optional)
• 3½ ozGreen peasyoung, briefly boiled, in the filling (optional)
• 7 ozmushroomssliced, sautéed along (optional)
• 3 tspmarjoramdried, seasons the filling (optional)
• 1Celery stalkfinely diced, in the sauce (optional)

Method

1. Prepare the peppersWash the bell peppers, cut off the tops or cut out the cores, and seed them carefully so they hold the filling.
2. Sweat onion and garlicPeel and finely chop the onion and garlic, then sweat them in oil or lard over medium heat with a pinch of salt until translucent.
3. Brown the porkAdd the ground meat, brown it, and season with salt, black pepper and sweet paprika.
4. Mix the fillingStir in the cooked rice, most of the chopped parsley, the egg, the sour cream and half of the cheese, then taste the filling and season it generously.
5. Stuff and arrange the peppersFill the bell peppers with the mixture and set them side by side in a baking dish or a wide pan.
6. Make the tomato sauceFor the sauce, briefly fry the tomato paste in a pot in a little oil or lard, then pour in the tomato passata and season with salt, black pepper and the sugar; spoon the sauce over the peppers.
7. Braise the peppersCover the dish and braise in the oven preheated to 355 °F for 25 to 40 minutes, until the peppers are soft; take the lid off for the last 10 minutes so the sauce reduces and the tops take on colour. If you're using a pan on the stove, simmer covered over low heat for the same time and uncover it for the last 10 minutes so the sauce thickens. If you want boiled potatoes alongside, cook them in their skins in salted water meanwhile.
8. Top with cheese and serveScatter with the remaining cheese, let it melt briefly, and serve sprinkled with the rest of the parsley — with the potatoes, bread, sliced tomatoes or salad.

Tips and variations

Instead of rice, you can bind the filling with a bread roll soaked in milk and squeezed out. A liver version swaps the ground meat for finely chopped chicken liver. Mushrooms, young peas, grated smoked cheese and chopped hard-boiled egg then go into that filling as well, alongside the Trappista. Dried marjoram seasons the filling nicely. Finely diced celery stalk adds depth to the sauce. In a hurry? The "lazy" (or "fake") stuffed peppers turn the mixture into meatballs, cut the peppers into pieces and braise everything together in tomato sauce. Another version skips the tomato sauce entirely: it drizzles the stuffed peppers with oil and steams them under foil in the oven, with the foil coming off at the end so they take on some colour. California peppers filled with a ground meat and rice ragout and scattered with cheese cook nicely in the air fryer at 170 °C. To serve: boiled potatoes on the side, or sourdough bread for dipping into the tomato sauce.