保加利亞釀紅椒蕃茄 | Bulgarian Stuffed Peppers and Tomatoes

 
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保加利亞釀紅椒蕃茄 x 代代相傳

這是來自我曾祖母的食譜。我的爺爺嫲嫲、父母和我從小就食這道菜。不少我們炮製的菜式都常見於其他舊時屬於鄂圖曼帝國的地區，例如希臘和土耳其菜。但這道菜卻是源自保加利亞的，而且那裏每個家庭都懂得做。

這些釀紅椒總會令我聯想到大家共聚一堂分享食物。在東歐，幾代同堂一齊食飯非常普遍。我小時候亦經常在爺爺嫲嫲家玩耍。學業開始忙碌後，雖然較多時僅同屋人一齊用膳，但也會盡量與大家庭聚首。

這道菜也承載了我父母美好的回憶。當他們在大學邂逅時，我爸爸帶了些家鄉傳統釀紅椒配扁豆給我媽媽，令她對這位男生刮目相看。日後講起，原來我爸爸拿了爺爺嫲嫲為他寄去的打氣包裹中的釀紅椒，來彰顯自己的廚藝，為自己在心儀對象面前加分！現在回想起來仍為他們帶來很多歡笑。

爺爺嫲嫲種植蕃茄和紅椒，以至其他蔬果都有一手。他們的農作物養育了我們，尤其於90年代初，保加利亞政局不穩的日子。共產政權倒台後，出現糧食短缺，因為僅存食物都全被藏起來了。普羅市民扭盡六壬去找日常所需，生活在城市而沒有農村聯繫的人終日不得溫飽。幸好爺爺嫲嫲從農場為我們寄來芝士和蔬果，解決了我們一大難題。

種植自己的蔬果，健康得來又感覺踏實，但也的確是粒粒皆辛苦。爺爺嫲嫲之所以持之以恆地耕作，因為這就是他們一直以來的生活。他們繼承了上一代人的土地，在那裏種瓜種菜，並好好保存它。

份量：其他（8個釀紅椒 + 3個釀蕃茄）

所需時間：1小時或以上

材料：

葵花籽油 1/2 杯
意大利米 2 杯
Capia紅椒或青椒 8 個（選用直身、薄皮和不辣的紅椒，這樣會較容易釀；甜椒並不適合）
蕃茄 3 個
洋蔥 1 個（切丁）
乾薄荷 3 茶匙
紅椒粉 1 茶匙
黑胡椒 1 茶匙
鹽

步驟：

  1. 用油炒香洋蔥。加入意大利米，攪拌均勻。盛起備用。拌入紅椒粉，然後倒入2杯熱水。

  2. 把米放回爐頭，用慢火煮，直到水完全被吸收。熄火，加入薄荷、黑胡椒和鹽調味。

  3. 辣椒切半。把蕃茄的頂部切掉，做成小蓋子。用茶羹把蕃茄肉挖出來，然後鋪在一個有深度的烤盤上。

  4. 用茶羹將意大利米填滿紅椒和蕃茄，但不要填得太滿，因為意大利米在焗爐裡會進一步發脹。用之前切掉的頂部蓋上蕃茄。

  5. 將填滿的紅椒和蕃茄放在有蕃茄肉的烤盤上，輕輕塗上葵花籽油。倒入3杯熱水。在170°C下焗35分鐘。

  6. 焗好後灑上香芹和幾羹酸奶即成。

【備註】

這道菜令我聯想起聖誕節。我們在（東正教）聖誕前夕會預備5至7道純素菜式，以標誌齋戒結束。冬天時，我們會用上已在夏天曬乾的紅椒。夏天的晚上，爺爺會坐著把紅椒串連成花圈的形狀。八月中旬趁陽光夠猛，你可以將紅椒在家中掛起來曬乾，待冬天來到時就一切就緒了！

你做過這道菜嗎？在下面留言，分享你的回憶吧！

 

Bulgarian Stuffed Peppers and Tomatoes x A Family Tradition

This is my great-grandmother’s recipe. My grandparents, my parents and I have all had this since our childhood. Many other dishes we have are common to the whole ex-Ottoman Empire, such as to Greek and Turkish food, but this is specifically Bulgarian. Every family has this in their repertoire.

These stuffed peppers evoke for me the feeling of being together and sharing food. Multi-generational meals are very common in Eastern Europe. Growing up, we spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ house. As we got busier with school, we ate more as a nuclear family. But whenever we could, we ate as a big family.

My parents also have precious memories of this dish. When they met in university, my dad showed my mum these amazing stuffed peppers with beans - traditional to where he was from. My mum was so impressed. But it eventually transpired that the peppers were part of a care package my grandparents had sent him. He’d claimed ownership over them to get ahead in the courting game! They find it hilarious to this day.

The ingredients of this dish are all homegrown. My dad’s parents are very good at growing both tomatoes and peppers, amongst other foods. Their vegetables have nourished us on so many occasions, including in the early 1990s, when Bulgaria was very unstable. When the Communist regime collapsed, they hid everything that was available, so there were huge problems with food scarcity. Ordinary people had to do the craziest things to get the basics. People in cities with no connections to the villages were almost starving. Thankfully my grandparents were able to send us cheese and vegetables they’d grown.

It’s healthy and satisfying to grow your own food, but practically, it’s also a lot of hard work. My grandparents have kept on doing it because that’s the life they’ve always known - to tend to the land that their parents had left them, to make use of it, and look after it well.

Serves: Other (makes 8 stuffed peppers and 3 stuffed tomatoes)

Total cooking time: 1 hour or more

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sunflower oil 
2 cups of risotto rice
8 capia red peppers or green peppers (choose straight peppers so they are easy to stuff and you can use any type of thin-skinned peppers, but not bell peppers)
3 tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
3 tsp dry mint
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
Salt

Steps:

  1. Fry onion in the oil. Add the rice and mix well. Remove from heat and mix well with the paprika. Add two cups of hot water. 

  2. Return the rice to the stovetop and keep on low heat until the water is fully absorbed. Remove from heat and add the dry mint, black pepper, and salt to taste. 

  3. Halve the peppers. Slice the tops off the tomatoes to form little lids and carve out the inside of the tomatoes with a teaspoon. Put the tomato carvings in the baking dish where you are going to bake the peppers and tomatoes. 

  4. Fill up the peppers and the tomatoes with the rice mixture using a teaspoon. Don't overfill them as the rice will expand further when you bake them. Put the little lids back on the tomatoes.

  5. Arrange the stuffed tomatoes and peppers in the tray where you have the tomato carvings as a base. Using a brush, coat the peppers and tomatoes with a bit of sunflower oil. Add 3 cups of hot water in the tray. Bake for 35 minutes at 170°C.

  6. Best enjoyed cold with a garnish of fresh parsley and a couple spoonfuls of yogurt.

Contributor’s Note:

I personally associate this dish with Christmas. We prepare 5-7 vegan dishes for (Orthodox) Christmas Eve, marking the end of the fasting period. In winter, we make it with peppers dried over the summer. My granddad would sit in the evenings and string them along into a kind of wreath. You would make it now (mid August) when the sunshine is very strong at home, and you hang it up for it to dry out. Then you are all set for winter!

Did you make this dish? Share your memory about it in the comment box below!

 
1 hour or moreThe Shared Meal HKInternational, Vegan, Bulgarian, Eastern European, Peppers, Tomatoes, RiceComment