Russian Stuffed Peppers (Farshirovannyi Perets)

About This Recipe

Farshirovannyi perets, meaning stuffed pepper, is a well-loved home-style dish across Russia and much of the former Soviet Union, built on a filling of ground beef or a beef-pork blend mixed with parboiled rice and sautéed onion. Unlike baked versions found elsewhere, Russian stuffed peppers are traditionally simmered on the stovetop in a pot, standing upright in a light tomato sauce enriched at the end with a spoonful of sour cream, giving the sauce a distinctive tangy creaminess. Parboiling the rice partway before mixing it into the filling is an important step, since raw rice mixed directly into the meat wouldn't have enough time or liquid access to cook through fully during the simmer, especially in peppers packed tightly. The tomato-sour cream sauce that surrounds the peppers as they cook bastes them continuously, keeping the peppers tender and infusing the filling with extra moisture and tang. Served with the sauce spooned generously over the top, farshirovannyi perets is classic Russian comfort food, the kind of dish many families grew up eating regularly, valued for stretching a modest amount of meat into a filling, satisfying dinner.

Ingredients

Serves 5

• 8bell peppers(tops cut, cored)
• 0.75 cuplong-grain rice(parboiled 10 minutes and drained)
• 500 gground beef(or beef-pork blend)
• 1onion(finely diced)
• 1carrot(grated)
• 3 tbspvegetable oil(divided)
• 2 tspfine sea salt(divided)
• 0.5 tspblack pepper
• 2 cupstomato juice or diluted tomato passata
• 0.5 cupsour cream
• 1 tbsptomato paste
• 2bay leaves
• 2 tbspfresh dill(chopped, for garnish)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the filling

   Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and carrot until softened, about 6 minutes. Let cool slightly, then mix with ground beef, parboiled rice, 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper.

2. 2

   Stuff the peppers

   Fill each pepper about three-quarters full with the meat and rice mixture, leaving room for the rice to expand.

3. 3

   Sear the peppers

   Heat remaining oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Sear the stuffed peppers standing upright for a couple minutes to lightly color the pepper skin, if the pot allows.

4. 4

   Make the sauce

   Whisk tomato juice, tomato paste, sour cream and remaining salt together in a bowl until smooth.

   Whisk the sour cream into the tomato mixture gradually rather than all at once, to avoid it separating or curdling when it hits the heat.

5. 5

   Simmer

   Pour the sauce around the peppers along with the bay leaves. Cover and simmer over low heat 35 to 40 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the filling is cooked through.

6. 6

   Serve

   Remove the bay leaves, spoon the sauce generously over each pepper, and garnish with fresh dill before serving.

Variations

• •

  Vegetarian version: replace the meat with a mix of mushrooms, extra rice and grated carrot, keeping the same sour cream tomato sauce.

• •

  Extra herby: mix chopped dill directly into the filling in addition to using it as a garnish.

• •

  Baked version: some households prefer baking the stuffed peppers in the sauce, covered, at 375°F for about 45 minutes instead of stovetop simmering.

Storage

Refrigerate in their sauce up to 3 days in an airtight container. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat, covered, adding a splash of water if the sauce has thickened too much.

Frequently Asked Questions