PUNJENE PAPRIKE & SARMA RECIPES

CAPTURED BY THE RECIPE HUNTERS

IN CROATIA

Matea's Walnut Meringue Cake Recipe, Brač, Croatia

Stuffing your vegetables full of savory seasoned meat and rice is what the Croats do best. We travelled to Split, Croatia to discover this gem of a recipe with a gem of a mom, Eleanora. Here we use the same seasoned meat to stuff both peppers, Punjene Paprike, and collard greens, Sarma. These hearty, healthy stuffed veggies are bursting with flavor! Served best with a side of Eleanora's mashed potatoes and bread, this recipe is most definitely made with love!

Ingredients for

Punjene Paprike & Sarma

5 Small Tomatoes

2 Medium Sized Onions

5 Garlic Cloves

3 Tbsp Paprika

10 Sweet Peppers

5 Large Collard Green Leaves (you can substitute chard here)

1 Tbsp Ground Black Pepper

1 cup Arborio Rice (for carb conscious eaters you can disregard rice)

1 cup of Vageta or 2 Vegetable Bouillon Cubes

1 Bunch Parsley

.5 kg Minced Pork

.5 kg of Minced Beef

.5 kg Pancetta or Soup Bone

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Flour

Love tip: The plate ensures that the food stays submerged and that the peppers or greens do not un-stuff

Recipe for

Punjene Paprike & Sarma

Seasoned Meat:

Dice the parsley, onion, and garlic
Dice a quarter of the panceta
Combine the vegeta, parsley, onion, garlic, 2 tablespoons of paprika, black pepper, diced panceta, and ground meat. Slowly add .5 cup of hot water to the mix so that the meat is not too dry. Mix thoroughly with hands until evenly distributed throughout.
Now add the rice to the seasoned meat and mix throughout

Stuffed Peppers or "Punjene Paprike"

Cut the caps off of the peppers and core the peppers free of seeds. Washing the peppers with water will also help to remove any remaining seeds.
Love Tip: An easy way to remove the caps off of the peppers is to push the caps of the peppers into themselves and then pull them out.
Using your hands, stuff the peppers with the meat mix, pushing the meat down into the bottom of each pepper with your fore finger or thumb.
Place the peppers in a large pot with the open side facing upwards

Stuffed Collard Greens or "Sarma"

Bring a pan or pot of water to a boil for blanching the collard greens.
While water is heating, wash and de-stem the collard greens.
Once water has boiled, add the greens to the boiling water for about 2 minutes. Remove them from hot water and either place them under running cold water. Drain and set aside.
Place a collard green vein side down in your hand. Add a 1-2 tablespoons of meat to the bottom center of the leaf. Roll the leaf over the meat from the bottom upwards like you are rolling a cigarette. You should have a cylinder shaped roll with open ends. Now take the open ends and tuck them inside.
Stack the stuffed leaves into the pot above the peppers

Cooking:

Add the pancetta and tomatoes on top of the stuffed vegetables
Pour hot water over the contents of the pot, so that they are covered
Take a plate big enough to cover the tomatoes but small enough to fit into the pot and place it upside down on top. Place the pot over high heat.
Once the meat is fully cooked (approx. 1.15 hours), heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat in a seperate skillet
Add the flour to the olive oil and stir so that the flour does not burn or stick to the pan.
Once the flour starts to come together, add a tablespoon of paprika and keep stirring around
Add the paprika flour mix to the pot of
If there is some flour and paprika stuck on the pan, add a little water to the hot pan and then pour the rest of the flour and paprika into the water with the stuffed peppers
5 minutes after adding the paprika flour mix, remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool before serving. Enjoy with some of Eleanora's Croatian bread or mashed potatoes