Stuffed peppers with tomato sauce

Töltött paprika – stuffed peppers, in Hungarian – is a luscious dish that used to be consumed in spring and summer. That was before fresh peppers became available all year round, and now töltött paprika makes for great comfort food on cold winter days thanks to the earthiness of its stuffing and the velvety sweetness of the tomato topping.

INGREDIENTS

              Cooking credit: Gáti Judit

PREPARATION

The peppers

The peppers used for töltött paprika are the so-called banana chilies. They have a mild, tangy taste and are thinner than bell peppers, which makes them perfect for stuffing. Don’t confuse them with yellow wax peppers, which look the same but are too hot for this dish.

The beef

Traditionally, töltött paprika used to be made with minced beef. During the communist era, however, beef was hard to come by, so people started stuffing their peppers with minced pork instead. In other words, you can use either and stay authentic.

PREPARE THE PEPPERS

• Wash the peppers and remove the stalk; cut out a ring to widen the opening of the pepper and set it aside.
• Tip all the ingredients into a large bowl and work with your hands until well blended. 

• Stuff the peppers with the mixture and place the ring that you’ve set aside on the pepper’s open side.
• Place the stuffed peppers in a pot of simmering water. The water doesn’t have to fully submerge all the peppers.
• Keep the water just under its boiling point and cook for 30 minutes or until the peppers are tender.

PREPARE THE MÁRTÁS

You can prepare the velvety tomato topping (paradicsomos mártás) for your peppers while they are softening in the simmering water.  

• Warm up the olive oil in a pan on medium heat.
• Add the flour and stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the mixture has a golden hue.
• Tip in the tomato sauce and the sugar.
• Keep stirring for a couple of minutes until the mixture has turned into a thin cream that is smooth and free of lumps.
• If the sauce is still too thick you can add a ladleful of water from the pot of peppers. 

Sugar

Hungarian tomato sauces tend to be quite sweet, with the sweetness coming not from the tomatoes themselves but from a generous dose of added sugar. If you like the contrast on your tastebuds, another tomato dish that we recommend is paradicsomos káposzta.   

SERVE & PAIR

Serve your dish

• Töltött paprika is a staple of home-cooking and is seldom found in restaurants. This makes it a great choice if you have dinner guests.
• The dish can be served after a light soup (leves). Choose a clear consommé or vegetable cream rather than a heavy option like gulyás or bean soup.
• Serve your peppers piping hot in a pyrex or casserole tray and covered in abundant tomato sauce (they should almost swim in it.)
• You can have this dish on its own or with boiled potatoes as a side.

Pair it with a red wine

• Go for an easy-drinking red wine from the region like a Portugieser.
• You can also pair your dish with a glass of Kékfrankos (Blaufränkisch), a spicy red whose acidity and relatively high tannins bring out the töltött paprika’s sweetness.
• If your wine shop doesn’t stock Hungarian or Central European wines, a good alternative is the omnipresent Merlot. 
• You can also enjoy your töltött paprika with a light beer such as Dreher or the very local Arany Ászok.

ENJOY!