People always ask me what are some of the authentic Romanian dishes and I have a few recipes here on the blog and to this day, one of my favorite has to be these stuffed peppers. This is my mom’s recipe that she’s been making ever since I can remember and she thankfully passed it down to me. Luckily for all my readers my mom also taught me to share, so share this delicious recipe I will! If you’ve never tried Romanian Stuffed peppers then you are in for a treat, these savory little flavor bombs are packed full of delicious ground pork and fluffy white rice. It’s all cooked down in a tomato sauce that is so good you’ll be tempted to sip it right out of the pan.
What Is Ardei Umpluti?
If you’re trying to learn a new language, here’s a little Romanian for you! So “ardei umpluti” literally means stuffed peppers. Now stuffed peppers are a dish that exists all around the world using a variety of meats, starches, and cheeses, but none are quite like their Romanian brother. This recipe is chock full of fresh dill and parsley studded ground pork stuffed into sweet peppers, all swimming in a delicious tomato sauce made creamy with a little sour cream.
Ingredients
Peppers
Peppers – We’re using medium sized Hungarian yellow sweet peppers but if you can find any regular yellow bell peppers will work just fine. Pork – We’re looking for ground pork, as fat as possible. The reason for this is so that our meat in the stuffed peppers is nice and juicy and not hard like a brick. Rice – Use any kind you’d like just be sure it’s uncooked. I usually prefer to use a long grain rice. Onion – Chopped up, be sure to look for something that cooks down well like white or yellow onion. Egg – This will bind all of our filling ingredients together nicely. Herbs – Fresh dill and parsley chopped up fine. The more fresh dill the better. Trust me on this one. Seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste.
Sauce
Tomato – Either puree and passata either can be used interchangeably in this recipe. Sour cream – Just a dollop of this will add some creamy tang to our dish. Water – To thin out our sauce and give us a better consistency. Seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste.
How To Make Romanian Stuffed Peppers
Other Cooking Options
You don’t just have to make these in the oven, they cook up perfectly in the slow cooker or pressure cooker! If you’re worried about the sour cream in the sauce, just be sure to combine the sauce before adding it to your slow/pressure cooker – it should be fine if pre mixed!
Slow cooker
Follow this recipe instructions listed above but instead of using a pot or dutch oven, place the peppers and sauce in your slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
Pressure Cooker
Follow the directions as listed above but place your peppers on the trivet provided to prevent them from burning. Close the lid of your pressure cooker according to the manufacture instructions. Cook for 8 minutes on the manual setting and allow the pressure to release naturally when done cooking
How To Serve
If you want some carbs to bulk up this meal and soak up all that delicious sauce, I have a few suggestions.
Traditionally this meal is served with an extra dollop of sour cream and some good crusty bread. Some soft dinner rolls. Spooned over Mashed Potatoes. Served over fluffy white rice to soak up all that delicious sauce.
Some Tips
Leftovers
Fridge
These peppers will keep for 3 – 5 days if stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Freezer
Be sure the meat is cooked all the way through and that the peppers are entirely cool before placing in the freezer. Put the peppers in a freezer safe container or wrap them individually with plastic wrap before placing in a freezer bag. This will keep for 6 – 8 months. Allow the dish to thaw completely in the fridge before allowing to warm back up to temperature in the oven.
More Delicious Recipes To Try:
Romanian Meatball Soup Cabbage Rolls Creamy Polenta Romanian Meatballs Traditional Romanian Polenta Cabbage Soup Beef Bourguignon Hungarian Goulash Stuffed Grape Leaves
