Polish Gołąbki-Style Stuffed Peppers with Pork and Rice

About This Recipe

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.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 6bell peppers(tops cut off and seeded)
• 500 gground pork
• 0.75 cuplong-grain rice(parboiled 10 minutes and drained)
• 1yellow onion(finely diced)
• 1 largeegg
• 1.5 tspdried marjoram
• 1 tspfine sea salt
• 0.5 tspblack pepper
• 1.5 cupscrushed tomatoes
• 0.5 cupvegetable or chicken stock
• 0.5 cupsour cream
• 0.25 cupfresh dill(chopped, for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the filling

   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.

2. 2

   Stuff the peppers

   Pack the filling into the hollowed peppers, mounding slightly at the top, and stand them upright in a baking dish.

3. 3

   Make the sauce

   Whisk together crushed tomatoes and stock. Pour around the peppers, filling the dish about a third of the way up the sides.

4. 4

   Bake covered

   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.

5. 5

   Finish the sauce

   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.

6. 6

   Serve

   Bake uncovered 5 more minutes, then spoon the sour cream tomato sauce over each pepper and scatter with fresh dill.

Variations

• •

  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.

Storage

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.

Frequently Asked Questions