STUFFED PEPPERS - TÖLTÖTT PAPRIKA

Some people like cold Chinese for breakfast or cold pizza. I like those too, but what I like the best is cold stuffed pepper before my coffee. This goes back to my childhood. Nagymama made töltött paprika in the paprika season, which is in the height of summer. We were a big family so there were always leftovers. And being poor and with no refrigeration, the leftover töltött paprika was placed in the kitchen window for the night. Well next morning before the temperatures rose it had to be all eaten up, hence my obsession with cold töltött paprika.

Peter in 1972 - Visiting in Budapest  

STUFFED PEPPERS
12 Hungarian yellow wax peppers (or 4 yellow bells)
500 g fresh ground pork (never buy it frozen)
handful of rice
1 small onion, diced
2 + 2 Tbsp oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg
salt and ground pepper to taste
water
1/2 bunch of fresh parsley
4 Tbsp flour
2 small cans of tomato paste
sugar to taste

• In a small pot of water partially cook the rice.
• Drain off liquid the and set rice aside.
• De-core the peppers, removing seeds and inside ribs.
• In a large skillet sauté the onions in 2 Tbsp oil until soft.
• Place the ground pork in a large bowl.
• Add the soft onions, the garlic, the partially cooked rice, and the egg.
• Sprinkle salt and ground pepper on the top.
• Combine meat mixture thoroughly.
• Stuff the peppers loosely with the rice-meat mixture.
• Form meatballs from the remaining stuffing.
• Arrange the peppers and meatballs in a deep oven proof dish.
• Add enough water to cover the stuffed peppers part of the way.
• Add the fresh parsley to the pot.
• Place the dish in the oven and bake at 320F for 2 hours or more. Baking time will depend on the size of the peppers used.
• Remove stuffed peppers with a slotted spoon into a clean dish.
• Reserve the broth for later use.
• In a skillet make a light roux from 2 Tbsp of oil and flour.
• Add the tomato paste, stirring all the time.
• Gradually add the hot broth and stir it smooth.
• Smooth the sauce with a stick blender or force it through a fine sieve.
• Season with salt and pepper and sweeten with sugar.*
• Bring the sauce to boil and pour over the peppers.
• Let the peppers cool and place in the fridge for overnight.
• Next day slowly heat through and serve.
• Stuffed peppers need overnight rest to combine and relax the flavours.

*The taste should be mildly sweet.

These were made from frozen Hungarian peppers and homemade tomato sauce.