Hungarian stuffed peppers in tomato sauce (Töltött paprika) recipe (2024)

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Hungarian stuffed pepper is classc dish, we make it all the time, especially when peppers and tomatoes are in season. Hungarian yellow peppers give this dish its distinct taste, although any kind of bell peppers can be used.The Hungarian sweet peppers have a thinner skin and doesn’t require as long to cook, it is what the Hungarians would use over the coloured sweet peppers. This is an easy recipe to prepare and impress your friends and family with. Traditionally it is made with pork, but any type of ground meat will work with this recipe.

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Total Time 1 hr 30 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Hungarian

Servings 4 people

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 lb of minced pork Half a kilogram
  • 1 egg
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 medium Spanish onion
  • 1 teaspoon sweet red paprika powder
  • 4 medium potatoes
  • 4 cubanelle peppers
  • 3 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 4 tbsp of vegetable oil
  • 2-3 tbsp sugar
  • 1.5 liters 100% tomato juice or1 liter tomato pureé
  • Salt to taste
  • Ground black pepper
  • Celery leaves optional
  • 1/3 cup of uncooked rice

Instructions

  • In a smaller pan sauté the finely chopped onions in vegetable oil over low heat, stirring frequently, until translucent. Do not let them burn. Salt lightly to help tenderize them.

  • Half of the cooked onions goes in the pot that you are using to make the stuffed peppers.

  • Mix the rest of the onions with sweet paprika powder, add as much that gives a nice red color to the onions. First add a flat teaspoon. Add more if needed. Make sure that the pan is not on the heat when you are adding the paprika, otherwise your paprika burns and becomes bitter.

  • Combine the ground pork, the egg, the uncooked rice, the minced garlic, the sautéed onions mixed with paprika, ground black pepper and salt to taste. Mix well.

  • Wash the peppers. Cut off the tops and remove the seeds. Fill the peppers with the meat mixture. Be sure to leave some room, as the rice will expand when cooked. IPour the tomato juice (1.5 liters) or tomato puree (1 liters) over the cooked onions. If you are using tomato puree, then add 2 cups of water to make it thinner. Bring it to a boil, lower the heat, place the stuffed peppers and the meatball is the tomato juice and slowly cook for about 50 minutes. f you have leftovers, shape meat balls in the palm of your wet hands.

  • Meanwhile, you have time to make the roux (to thicken your tomato sauce): In a pan, heat 4 tablespoons of oil, add 2-3 tablespoons of flour, stirring constantly. You need just enough flour to make the consistency of your roux not too thick and not too thin. It should spread out in your pan and bubble a little.

  • After 2-3 minutes of searing, when it starts to brown, take it off the heat, allow to cool.

  • Peel the potatoes and cut them into bigger chunks. In a medium pot heat water, salt it and boil the potatoes until tender, then drain them.

  • When the stuffed peppers and meatballs are cooked, gently take them out from the pot.

  • Mix your roux with a little cold water to thin it, this way you avoid lumps when you pour back the roux to the tomato liquid to thicken it a bit. First pour back only the half of your roux, bring it to a boil. The tomato consistency should be like a thiner cream soup. Add more roux if needed to get this consistency. Add 1-2 tablespoons of sugar and celery leaves (optional).

  • Place back the stuffed peppers and the meatballs in the tomato sauce and slowly simmer it for another 2-3 minutes.

  • Serve with boiled potatoes.

Notes

The best to use Hungarian yellow peppers, cubanelle or banana peppers when maing this recipe. If you use bell peppers, then the cooking time will be longer. The bell peppers are wilder and their skin is thicker, 50 minutes of cooking is not enough, the rice would be still firm in the middle of the peppers. I would recommend preparing the meat filling with cooked rice.

Keyword Hungarian stuffed pepper

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culinaryhungary2021-10-09T21:56:49+02:00

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7 Comments

  1. Hungarian stuffed peppers in tomato sauce (Töltött paprika) recipe (9)

    Agnes Barath2016-08-17 at 13:09 - Reply

    Hello Gaye,

    You cook the stuffed peppers and meatballs in salted boiling water. Once they are cooked, place them into the tomato sauce and slowly simmer for another 2-3 minutes.

    Kind regards,
    Agnes

  2. Hungarian stuffed peppers in tomato sauce (Töltött paprika) recipe (10)

    John2016-11-12 at 14:01 - Reply

    Hi Agnes, I live in the UK, what is the tomato sauce exactly? Is it ketchup (Heinz) or tomato juice that you drink, please help as I frequently go to Hungary and always forget to ask how they make it, Regards John

    • Hungarian stuffed peppers in tomato sauce (Töltött paprika) recipe (11)

      Agnes Barath2016-11-14 at 14:02 - Reply

      Hi John,
      Do not use ketchup. You can use tomato juice that you can drink or tomato paste. It is a bit thicker, add more water if necessary.
      Kind regards,
      Agnes

  3. Hungarian stuffed peppers in tomato sauce (Töltött paprika) recipe (12)

    Lois casto2018-11-03 at 01:22 - Reply

    I understood it perfectly,sounds so good,thanks Lois

  4. Hungarian stuffed peppers in tomato sauce (Töltött paprika) recipe (13)

    VS2022-07-28 at 17:47 - Reply

    Thank you for posting these recipes Aggie! They are exactly as my Mom used to make them and I needed the recipes so I could try to make them both vegan and gluten free. Looking forward to experimenting!

    • Hungarian stuffed peppers in tomato sauce (Töltött paprika) recipe (14)

      Barath Agnes2022-08-29 at 09:59 - Reply

      Hello,
      Thanks, I’m so glad to hear that this recipe is the same your Mon used to make. Hope it turns our delicious. :)
      Aggie

  5. Hungarian stuffed peppers in tomato sauce (Töltött paprika) recipe (15)

    Erika McEnroe2023-02-26 at 02:31 - Reply

    Thank you so much for this! My mother passed away last year and left me many recipes but not this one – which was my favorite Hungarian meal!!! Her name was also Aggie! I am so happy to have found this. Thank you!

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Hungarian stuffed peppers in tomato sauce (Töltött paprika) recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you use Hungarian paprika? ›

To best bring out the full flavor in paprika, it must be added to the hot fat (in generous amounts) and heated very briefly (to prevent the bitterness that occurs when it burns) before adding the rest of the ingredients. This cooking method is the first step to countless Hungarian dishes.

What pepper is Hungarian paprika made from? ›

Paprika is made from a particular variety of pepper — Capiscum annuum — which is dried and ground, imparting a deep, earthy flavor and its signature crimson hue.

Do you need to boil peppers before stuffing them? ›

The peppers need to be par-cooked before filling so that they cook through. Many recipes call for boiling the peppers first, but I prefer to roast them – more flavor and less cleanup!

What is the Hungarian word for paprika? ›

őrölt paprika {noun} gasztr. Translations from Hungarian to English. paprika = pepper. őrölt paprika = paprika powder. piros paprika = paprika Show all.

What makes Hungarian paprika different from regular paprika? ›

Hungarian paprika is often lauded as the most desirable and most flavorful iteration of the spice. It can be either hot or sweet and is made using ground Hungarian paprika chile peppers. In Hungary, paprika is further divided into eight categories based on gradations of sweetness and hotness.

What makes Hungarian paprika special? ›

No other pepper in the world adds this unique touch to a dish―not even the paprika peppers grown in their native soil in the Americas. In Hungary, paprika is grown in the Kalocsa and Szeged regions, where the climate is drier and the sun burns longer, giving the peppers their unique color and sweet zest.

Is McCormick paprika a Hungarian paprika? ›

McCormick® Culinary® Hungarian Style Paprika uses only the highest quality peppers to deliver a sweet and slightly pungent flavor, and a deep red color.

Can I use regular paprika instead of Hungarian paprika? ›

Regular paprika

This is the kind that you'll find labeled as simply "paprika" in the grocery store. It won't carry much flavor. It's a mild spice that's mainly used to add color to a dish or to garnish food. If you don't have this everyday version on hand, you can use sweet Hungarian paprika as a substitute.

Is hot Hungarian paprika the same as Hungarian paprika? ›

Hot paprika is, unsurprisingly, hot. Also known as Hungarian paprika, a little goes a long way so use it sparingly to spice up dishes. It has a peppery, spicy flavour that will bring a fiery kick to dishes. Irrespective of which type of paprika you use, here's a tip …

Do you cook stuffing before you stuff? ›

Fully cook raw meat, poultry, or seafood ingredients before adding to stuffing. Combine the ingredients and place them in your bird immediately before cooking. Don't stuff whole poultry with cooked stuffing. In addition to the turkey, the stuffing's center needs to reach 165 F.

How do you keep stuffed peppers from getting soggy? ›

To prevent it from happening, you should try to avoid or reduce excess moisture – here are three of the things you can do:
  1. Pre-cook Peppers. ...
  2. Use Leftover Rice. ...
  3. Save Cheese for the Topping.

Which paprika is best of Hungary? ›

The rose paprika of Hungary is generally considered the finest variety. It is made from choice dark red pods that have a sweet flavour and aroma. A sharper Hungarian variety, Koenigspaprika, or king's paprika, is made from the whole pepper.

How much paprika to use? ›

Don't be afraid to be generous; many Hungarian recipes call for at least one tablespoon to achieve sufficient depth of flavour.

Is there a difference between paprika and sweet Hungarian paprika? ›

Generally speaking, the flavor of paprika is mild, so you can get away with using these two versions interchangeably, but, while subtle, there is a meaningful difference: Hungarian paprika tends to be a little sweeter with a smokiness to it, while Spanish tends to be a bit on the lighter side, but with a very small ...

Is Hungarian paprika hotter than regular paprika? ›

Hot paprika is, unsurprisingly, hot. Also known as Hungarian paprika, a little goes a long way so use it sparingly to spice up dishes. It has a peppery, spicy flavour that will bring a fiery kick to dishes. Irrespective of which type of paprika you use, here's a tip …

What does Hungarian paprika taste like? ›

Hungarian paprika traditionally comes in eight different flavor profiles, ranging from mild and bright red to spicy, pungent, and pale orange. The most common is a bright red variety called édesnemes, which has a pungent pepper flavor and sweetness.

Can I substitute Hungarian paprika for regular paprika? ›

Regular paprika

It's a mild spice that's mainly used to add color to a dish or to garnish food. If you don't have this everyday version on hand, you can use sweet Hungarian paprika as a substitute.

What's the difference between Hungarian and American paprika? ›

In Hungary there are many kinds of paprika, but in U.S. grocery stores you will likely just find one version that either comes from Hungary or from California. Paprika is the Hungarian word for pepper, and Hungarian-style paprika is not smoked, but rather fairly sweet.

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