Romanian Stuffed Peppers (Ardei Umpluti)

Steps to make

1. 1

   Preheat oven

   1 min

   Preheat the oven to 375 °F.

2. 2

   Prepare peppers

   3 min
   

   To prevent the peppers falling, carefully slice a flat, even piece off the bottom of 8 medium peppers.

4. 3

   Prepare stuffing

   2 min
   

   In a mixing bowl, combine 1½ lbs of ground pork, ½ cup of uncooked rice, 1 chopped onion, 1 egg, ¼ cup freshly chopped dill, ¼ cup of freshly chopped parsley, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper.

5. 4

   Stuff peppers

   7 min
   

   Stuff the 8 prepared peppers with the stuffing mixture and place them standing upwards in a large 5-quart Dutch oven.

6. 5

   Prepare sauce

   2 min
   

   In another mixing bowl, whisk 2 cups of tomato passata with ½ cup of sour cream. 2 cups of water, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper until combined. Pour the sauce into the pot of stuffed peppers so the sauce reaches halfway up the peppers.

7. 6

   Cook

   2 h
   

   Cover the Dutch oven with a lid and bake in the preheated oven for 1½ hours, covered. Remove the lid and cook, uncovered, for about 45 minutes - 1 hour until the peppers are softened and can be easily pierced with a fork. The rice should be cooked too.

8. 7

   Serve

   

   Serve hot with extra sour cream and some crusty bread, if you wish!