SLOVAK SUMMER FOOD

This dish is very dear to my heart. When I go home to Slovakia, this is the dish I ask my mum to cook for me as a welcome home meal. It is traditionaly a summer dish, because peppers used to be a summer food. Everything is more seasonal in Slovakia. We have a different type of peppers, which I have not seen anywhere else so far. They are pale green colour with thiner flesh and they can be very spicy, or not. Its a russian roulette. Normally it can be established by smell. I always take a few back to England with me.

Because these peppers are not available in Uk, I've chosen these little baby peppers. The skin is not as thick so they will cook through in the sauce. They are stuffed with a mixture of mince pork and rice. Any leftover mixture is rolled into meatballs, slightly bigger then the Italian version. Some recipes use uncooked rice, I've tried it but the rice didn't quite cook inside the peppers and it was a bit crunchy. My mums recipe uses cooked rice and this worked very well .
Everything is cooked in rich tomato sauce. The sauce picks up the flavour of the peppers and the meat cooking in it. This gives it an irresistible flavour.

I always thought it was difficult and timely to make. so I wasn't so keen to do it myself. But in fact the prep takes around 30 mins and cooking around an hour. You have plenty for 4 people or for 2 dinners and lunch for two. Traditionally this dish is served with a yeasty steamed dumpling which absorbs the sauce beautifully. As this is hard to get in uk, and I was lazy to do it myself, I served it with new boiled potatoes. Soft bread also goes nicely, to mop up the sauce.

This is how you prepare it.
Peppers:

Around 8 baby peppers or 6 bigger ones 

1 onion, finely chopped

Oil

500g minced pork 

150g white rice, cooked 

2 eggs 

50g dried breadcrumbs

Sauce:

3 tbsp plain flour 

1 tsp paprika 

400g tomato purée 

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp salt

2 bay leaves 

1tsp marjoram

Start with cooking your rice as normal until it's almost cooked. I have used risotto rice, but any variety will do. You can also do this day in advance. Meanwhile prepare your peppers. Wash them and cut out the stalks and all the seeds, including any membranes. Fry the onion in one spoon of oil for about 10 minutes, until translucent and soft. Set aside to cool slightly.

Place the pork in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Pork can absorb a lot of salt. 

Add the onion and the cooked rice, eggs and breadcrumbs. Mix well with your hands. Using a spoon fill the peppers with the mixture, pressing hard all the way to the bottom of the peppers. When you filled all your peppers, prick the flesh with the point of a knife in few places, to let the steam out during cooking, so your peppers don't burst. Wet your hands with cold water and roll balls with the remaining mixture. There will be quite a lot.

Now prepare your sauce. 

In a largest pan you have, heat 2 spoons of oil with the flour and paprika. Cook it on medium heat until the flour starts to colour gently. Then add salt and sugar, mix until dissolved. Add the cold water, around 1 litre and stir. Add the water in batches to prevent lumps. Them add the tomato purée. Stir well, add the bay leaves and marjoram, then bring to a boil. 

At this point, add all the peppers and as many meatballs as you can fit. Make sure everything is submerged in the sauce. It should cook for 45-50 minutes, the peppers must be soft. Stirr occasionally, every 10-15 mins. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve with boiled potatoes or bread.