Stuffed Dried Red Peppers and Trip to Serbia

From my last trip to Serbia I brought back dried peppers bought at a farmers market. I was never crazy about them before, but when I made them yesterday they were very good... actually, I can't recall anything so delicious I ate recently.


My first thought was how expensive it would be here, in the U.S... two bunches of them, 18 in total would cost quite a lot... The stuffing is similar to risotto with mushrooms, but a sweet, mild flavor and crispy texture of peppers gives the dish something very special. And, after all, they look so gorgeous assembled in the bake ware.


This is very important - eat them with crumbled Feta cheese.

You need:


18 dried red peppers
3 Tbs. olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large carrot, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 lb crimini mushrooms, cut in small pieces
2 cups of vegetable broth
150g rice
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped


Steps:

Cover the dried peppers with very hot water in a large bowl. Leave them to soften for 2 hours.

In a large skillet heat the olive oil, saute chopped onions for 3 minutes, add garlic, and chopped carrot and celery. After 4-5 minutes, add mushrooms. Before mushrooms start to produce liquid add rice and stir until rice gets coated with oil, about 1-2 minutes. Pour in vegetable broth, reduce the heat and stir stuffing constantly for 15 minutes. Remove it from the stove and allow to cool down. Stir in chopped walnuts.

Preheat the oven to 395F (200C).

Drain the peppers and stuff them with rice stuffing. Arrange them in a baking dish, cover with an aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. When the dish is almost done remove the aluminum foil and bake for a few minutes to get a nice crust.

This recipe is featured on New York Times' website 

Have a look at photos from Serbia: bakeries, typical farmers market, Sunday family lunch and downtown of Belgrade.

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Serbian Farmers Market

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Sava River, Belgrade

Belgrade, Downtown

Belgrade, Downtown

People Enjoying the Beginning of Spring

Belgrade, Downtown