🇲🇪 Montenegrin Cuisine

Punjene Paprike

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Prep Time 1 hour 30 min

Servings 6

Difficulty Medium

Calories 360 kcal

Sweet bell peppers filled with a savory mixture of rice, ground beef, onions, and herbs, baked in a rich tomato sauce until tender and caramelized.

Ingredients

8 medium bell peppers
400g ground beef
200g rice, rinsed
1 large onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
500ml tomato passata
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sweet paprika
Fresh parsley
Salt, pepper

Instructions

1 Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds. Reserve tops.
2 Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Cool slightly.
3 Mix ground beef, rice, sautéed onion, paprika, parsley, salt, and pepper.
4 Stuff peppers with the mixture, leaving room for rice to expand. Replace tops.
5 Stand peppers upright in a baking dish. Pour passata mixed with 200ml water around them.
6 Bake at 180C (350F) for 1 hour until peppers are soft and filling is cooked through.

Did You Know?

In Montenegro, the number of stuffed peppers a cook makes is always more than needed — leftover punjene paprike reheated the next day are considered even better.