A Stuffed Pepper Extravaganza

By popular request, I am adding my recipe for stuffed peppers (punjene or filovane paprike). I had two friends over for dinner last night, Abu Banda and another dear anthropologist who is visiting Bosnia (though she lived here previously during a research-stay). She had mentioned that she really wanted to have stuffed peppers while she was here, and yesterday, I went to Markale, bought the necessary ingredients and surprised her with this dish. Be forewarned: this is not a 'traditional' recipe (who said this blog was about 'traditional' food choices?) for stuffed peppers, but my personal variation on 2 recipes in particular. Stuffed peppers are common across the whole south-east European area, and come in hundreds or thousands of variation. This recipe combines the best of a more 'coastal' style of preparation (from my mother Dunja - this style uses plenty of tomatoes and garlic and cooks the peppers in a rich tomato sauce) and a 'continental' style (from my husband's grandmother Hafiza - I take the meat filling combination and filling preparation from this style, though here the peppers are usually, once stuffed, baked in an oven to evoke the sweetness of the pepper flesh). So let's get down to it. This recipe also features step-by-step photos to aid you in the pepper preparation. Note: for this recipe, you should try and find peppers that are not that large (approximately the size of a tennis ball) and whose skin is not too thick. For this recipe you will need:

10-11 green peppers

For the filling:
2-3 small onions
2 medium carrots
1 tablespoon of oil
3/4 teaspoon of sweet paprika
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of basil/oregano combination
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 kg of lean ground veal
2-3 handfuls of uncooked rice

For the sauce:
1 medium tomato
500-600 g of pureed strained tomatoes (not tomato paste)
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1-2 teaspoons of basil/oregano
1 heaping tablespoon of sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Grate 2-3 small onions and 2 medium sized carrots into a pot. Add one tablespoon of oil and lightly saute the onions and carrots. As the onions and carrots are saute-ing, add the salt and pepper, sweet paprika, garlic powder and basil/oregano. As soon as the onions are slightly clear, add the veal and mix so that all of the ingredients are well integrated. Saute not only until the veal is done, but until the whole mixture is quite dry (all the water released by the meat has evaporated). Remove the pot from the flame and put aside. Add about 2-3 handfuls of the uncooked rice into the meat and mix thoroughly. Cover the pot with a lid and leave to the side. You should have something that approximately looks like this:


It is important to stir the rice in raw and leave it in the warm meat while you prepare the rest of the steps. The rice, just through the steam inside the pot will begin to soften up, and by the time you are ready to cook the peppers, will be about halfway done.
Once you have placed the meat mixture aside, take your peppers, wash them well and hollow the inside, removing the core and seeds.


Stuff the hollow peppers with the meat mixture. You should take care not to fill the peppers all the way up to the top with the meat because the rice will expand as it will cook, and you don't want your peppers to overflow.


Take the tomato and cut it into the same number of pieces as you have number of peppers. Place a piece of the tomato into each pepper, on top of the meat mixture.


Place the pureed tomato into a pot big enough to hold all of your peppers. You can puree and strain your own tomatoes, however that is too much work. So I usually purchase the canned tomatoes (with no seasonings) at the store - it is perfectly fine, and just as delicious. The puree is quite thick, so I usually add about 2-3 cups of water to thin it out. With just the tomato sauce, place the pot on a medium-high flame and bring to a boil after you have added 1 tablespoon of garlic powder, 1-2 teaspoons of basil and oregano, 1 heaping tablespoon of sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the flavours come together. Feel free to experiment with the spices-it really is a guessing and testing process to get the flavour you want, especially with the sugar. Depending on how sour the tomatoes you have are, you may want to add more or less sugar, but the sugar is quite necessary to make the sauce less bitter, and more smooth. Once the sauce is done, turn the stove down to a low-medium flame and arrange the peppers in the pot. (Here I used two pots, because I didn't have just one large pot, but you can do it just in one.)


Cook until the rice is fully done, and the pepper skin is nice and soft, almost to the point of breaking, about 15-20 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes, or with just bread (somun as we did below, or another nice flatbread).


If you like, top with a dollop of delicious sour cream. See the picture way at the top of the blog for the sour cream version. After this very delicious dinner, I prepared a small summertime dessert (this was a special occasion!) - a little dollop of ice-cold rice pudding or sutlija and fresh nectarine slices. But more on rice pudding at another time.

Announcing: a week of Sarajevo's Asian food!

Sometimes we all need a little respite for that yummy meaty balkan food. Sometimes, however, that respite is hard to find. Luckily, we can prowl the streets of Sarajevo for some new culinary treats. And so, 'sahan for two' announces its first restaurant review week. Coming soon: Sarajevo's Asian restaurants! Reviews will include Pasta Zen, that little Chinese restaurant in Marindvor, and the Indian restaurant in Čengić vila, amongst others we have yet to discover. Also to be profiled is the new spice store in the eastern part of Baščaršija, for all of those wanting to make delicacies in their own kitchen, as well as articles on where to get special spices and ingredients throughout the city. 'Sahan for two' is pleased to welcome a guest columnist this week who will be aiding both in the taste-testing and the review-writing: Abu Banda. Abu Banda is not only a culinary expert, but also an anthropology graduate student doing research in Bosnia. And to kick off this restaurant/store review, I am including a simple recipe for larb, a Thai dish, you can easily make in the comfort of your home here. It is, of course, a modified recipe which uses ingredients available here (no Thai basil, I am afraid), but delicious and refreshing for a hot summer day. I've also included some photos from Abu Banda's, my husband's and my recent afternoon of larb.

1 small onion, thinly sliced

2-3 limes

1/2 kg ground pork or (as I use) ground turkey (a delicious substitute)

1/2 tablespoon ground dried chili pepper, or 3 heaping tablespoons of dried chili past

4-5 tablespoons fish sauce

2 green onions, sliced (mladi luk from the market works just fine)

3 sprigs of mint, optional

1 head of lettuce to serve

Squeeze juice from 1/3 of the lime on to the ground turkey. Mix well and let it marinade for just a couple of minutes until you are ready to cook it. Heat up a pan on high until it is very hot. Add two tablespoons of water and then immediately add your marinated turkey and stir. The turkey will stick to the pan at first, but then the juice will come out and the meat will loosen from the bottom. Keep stirring until the pork is well done. Let the turkey cool down to room temperature. Put the turkey in a bowl a large mixing bowl that will hold all the ingredients. Add fish sauce, green onion, onion, the rest of the lime juice, ground chili pepper and mint. Mix well and taste. It should be quite hot. You should be able to taste tartness from the lime juice and the fish sauce. If you need to add more fish sauce or lime juice, don't be afraid. Getting the flavor balance right is a trial and error process.
Put the mixed ingredients in a serving bowl and serve with lettuce leaves.

Ajvar for beginners

While the casual observer may note that 'fall is not actually here yet,' quite a few grandmothers are already preparing for a fall ritual that can only be described as crazy or delicious or sickening. Or torturous. No really. A nightmare. For all those involved, especially the 'lucky' children picked to be 'assistants' to the wise old cook. The late summer early fall red pepper harvest in the countries of the former Yugoslavia means only one thing: ajvar. For those not in the know, ajvar (from the Turkish word havyar, meaning caviar - but more on this later) is a delicious sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy roasted red pepper spread that everyone enjoys, but particularly with grilled meat, or smoked meat, or as one of the assorted meze on the table which can often include sheep cheese, hard cheese, olives and the like. Ajvar-making is not only a fall ritual throughout the region, but often a cause for great debate. Who makes the best ajvar? Traditionally, the answer is the Macedonians.

When I was buying home-made ajvar (which I found to be delicious) at a market in Prijedor this summer, a woman walked up to me and scoffed. She continued "my mother is Macedonian, I never buy this stuff. I only make it at home." Leave it to us to think that your genetic makeup makes you predestined for something :) But, certainly, people take their ajvar seriously. From handpicking the red peppers that go into it, roasting in a particular way on a particular fire, and - very importantly - making sure there is just the right quantity and quality of garlic that gives the spread its bite. Legend has it that, when caviar production declined severely in the Adriatic region in the 19th century, urban elites all over the region demanded a substitute. In particular, it was very important that the substitute have the colour and aesthetics of red salted roe. And so ajvar was born. I'm not sure how exactly how and why people thought that roasted red pepper spread resembled red caviar, but hey, I never believe most Balkan legends anyway.
For those who are interested in making this dish at home - and, believe me, once you start, the whole process is quite addictive, here is a simple but quite delicious recipe. The key, I think, is really the appropriate roasting of the peppers, getting them roasted enough (but not burnt) to emphasize the pepper skin's sweetness.


My version of ajvar

* 8-12 fresh red peppers (mild or medium-hot, to taste)
* 4 medium-size eggplants
* 1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil
* 1 large onion, minced
* 1/2 of a head of garlic, at least 6 cloves, chopped
* 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice (or 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar)
* salt and pepper to taste
* Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Roast the peppers and eggplants (ideally) over charcoal or a gas flame, or bake them in a preheated 475 F oven, until the skin is blistered and quite darkened. Place the roasted vegetables in a paper bag and let them steam in their own heat for 10 minutes. Then let the peppers cool. If you want to do the roasting a day ahead, you can put the peppers into Ziploc bags and into the freezer - the skin peels much in a much easier fashion if you freeze them first. Peel off and discard the burnt skin along with the stems and seeds. Mash the peppers and eggplant pulp together to form a rough texture, with a fork or food processor.
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet and saute the onion until very soft. Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the pepper-eggplant pulp, mixing well. Slowly drizzle the remaining oil into the mixture, stirring constantly to incorporate all of the oil, while heating over a very low flame. Add lemon juice or vinegar, and salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and mix in fresh parsley.

Of course, if you are lazy (as people often are), and don't have access to good Macedonian ajvari, here are some generic brand recommendations, all of which you can regularly find on the shelves here in Sarajevo. My favourite generic canned ajvar is the hot one from Podravka (don't even try the mild, it's horrible). The hot is not actually that hot. In second place, is the mild or hot versions from Vitaminka. Solid. Lastly, Vegy - well, not really because it's particularly tasty, but it's an ambitious and homegrown Bosnian company that is starting out with food production, and doing quite well. Support local products!