Croatian Stuffed Peppers

Taste of home. Nostalgia.
First thing I think of when I taste this or even think of them for that matter, is my grandma. Did I ever mention to you how good my grandma smells? She is almost 80 years old, she uses Channel perfume. So cool.

I’m not sure why I cook traditional Croatian food so seldom here. Maybe because my husband likes Mexican food so much, and he would always eat a burger before a stew made from scratch. What a waste of my willingness to cook, hehe.
I was reminded of this phenomenal dish by Josipa from In Search For Inspiration blog, so thanks to her for that!
I used my own recipe for it since every household in Croatia has their own methods and recipes for it. My mom learned this from my grandma, and she learned it from her mom…

Croatian Stuffed peppers

1 lbs of ground beef
1 lbs of ground pork
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 egg
1/4 cup of rice
10 bell peppers, medium size
1 tsp of salt + 1/2 tsp for tomato juice
1/2 tsp of pepper

2 stems of parsley
large can of tomato juice
4 tbsp of flour
1/4 cup of oil + 1 tbsp to saute the onion
water

Wash and drain peppers. Remove the top from your peppers,clean the inside by removing the seeds and the stems.Wash them and drain well.

Finely chop your onion and saute it on a tablespoon of oil.

In a bowl mix your pork and beef with uncooked rice,salt,pepper and minced garlic clove. Add slightly cooled sauteed onions to it and mix. Add the egg and mix until well combined.

Turn the stove on medium heat and add oil to the large pot that you will be cooking your peppers in. Once hot add flour to it and stir for a few minutes to make a rough that will be a thickener for your tomato juice. Add the tomato juice with 2 cups of water and let it cook for a few minutes until you are ready to put your peppers in.

Fill your peppers with the meat mixture, fill your peppers to the top but make sure you don’t stuff them to dense because the meat with rice will expand a little.
Put whole two stems of parsley in the pot with the tomato and add your peppers. If they are not covered with tomato sauce, add more water. Add salt.

Cook for one to one and a half hour. Serve with fresh bread or mashed potatoes. or both. There is plenty of sauce for both! :o)

I prefer this dish the next day reheated. I also doubled all of my ingredients and I’ve frozen half of it in packages of two for easy delicious lunch or dinner any day of the week.