Grandma’s stuffed peppers: a slow-baked classic that never lets you down

Ask ten families how to make stuffed peppers and you will get ten recipes, each described as the only correct one. This version comes from the kitchen of Vesna, a grandmother from Cedar Falls who has made it on autumn Sundays for more than 50 years. It is simple, forgiving and, as she puts it, “even better on the second day”.

Ingredients (serves 4 to 6)

• 8 medium bell peppers, red or yellow
• 500 g minced beef, or a mix of beef and pork
• 120 g short-grain rice, rinsed
• 1 onion and 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• a small bunch of parsley, chopped
• salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 700 ml tomato passata
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 300 ml water or stock

Method

Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds, keeping the tops to use as lids. Heat the oil and soften the onion for five minutes, add the garlic for one more minute, then let the mixture cool slightly.

In a large bowl, mix the meat, rice, onion and garlic, egg, paprika, parsley, a teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper. Do not pack the filling too tightly: the rice needs room to swell. Fill the peppers to about a finger’s width below the rim and put the lids back on.

Stand the peppers upright in a deep baking dish. Stir the sugar and a pinch of salt into the passata, add the water and pour it around the peppers. Cover with foil and bake at 180°C for one hour, then remove the foil, spoon some sauce over the tops and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes, until the peppers are soft and lightly browned. Make sure the filling is cooked through before serving.

Let the dish rest for 15 minutes before bringing it to the table.

The secret is patience. If you take them out too early, the rice is hard and the peppers taste raw. Give them time.

Vesna, home cook from Cedar Falls

Tips from Grandma’s kitchen

Serve with a spoonful of thick yogurt or sour cream and fresh bread to soak up the sauce. For a vegetarian version, replace the meat with finely chopped mushrooms and an extra 50 g of rice. Stuffed peppers keep in the fridge for up to three days and taste even better reheated, which makes them ideal for cooking a day ahead.