Bell peppers stuffed with the classic Polish gołąbki filling of pork, rice and marjoram, baked in a tomato-sour cream sauce.
Gołąbki, cabbage rolls filled with a seasoned pork and rice mixture, are one of Poland's best-known comfort foods, traditionally simmered in a tomato sauce that's often finished with a spoonful of sour cream. This recipe keeps that exact filling and sauce but stuffs bell peppers instead of cabbage leaves, cutting down the prep time considerably while keeping the flavor unmistakably gołąbki. The technique that carries the dish is partially cooking the rice before mixing it into the raw pork filling, since fully raw rice won't finish cooking through in the time the pepper needs to soften. Marjoram, one of the most heavily used herbs in Polish cooking, especially with pork and rice dishes, is mixed directly into the filling rather than added only at the end. Baked in a tomato sauce finished with sour cream — the traditional way gołąbki is served — this version delivers the same comforting, herbaceous flavor in a format that bakes faster and is easier to portion than rolling individual cabbage leaves.
Serves 6
In a large bowl, combine ground pork, parboiled rice, onion, egg, marjoram, salt and pepper. Mix gently until just combined.
Don't overwork the filling — mixing too much makes the stuffing dense rather than tender once baked.
Pack the filling into the hollowed peppers, mounding slightly at the top, and stand them upright in a baking dish.
Whisk together crushed tomatoes and stock. Pour around the peppers, filling the dish about a third of the way up the sides.
Cover tightly with foil and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 40 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the filling is cooked through.
Carefully spoon out about a cup of the pan sauce into a bowl, whisk in the sour cream to temper it, then stir it back into the baking dish.
Bake uncovered 5 more minutes, then spoon the sour cream tomato sauce over each pepper and scatter with fresh dill.
Parboil the rice for exactly 10 minutes so it's still firm — it finishes cooking inside the pepper during baking.
Use dried marjoram generously; it's the defining herb in gołąbki filling and gives this its distinctly Polish flavor.
Temper the sour cream with warm sauce before stirring it back in, so it doesn't curdle in the hot baking dish.
Classic cabbage version: use the same filling to stuff blanched cabbage leaves instead of peppers, rolling and baking in the same sauce.
Beef blend: use half ground beef, half ground pork for a slightly richer filling.
Mushroom addition: fold in finely chopped sautéed mushrooms for extra depth and moisture.
Refrigerate in the baking dish or an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat covered in a 160°C (325°F) oven until warmed through, about 20 minutes.
Gołąbki, meaning 'little pigeons,' is a well-documented Polish dish of cabbage rolls stuffed with pork and rice, traditionally simmered in tomato sauce and finished with sour cream, remaining one of the most recognized dishes in Polish home cooking.
Fully cooked rice will turn mushy by the time the peppers finish baking, so parboiling for just 10 minutes, leaving the grains firm, gives a better texture.
This usually happens when sour cream is stirred directly into a very hot sauce. Temper it first with a spoonful of the warm sauce before combining.
Yes, ground beef works well as a substitute, though the filling will be slightly less traditional in flavor since pork is the classic choice for gołąbki.
Per serving (370g / 13.1 oz) · 6 servings total
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