Stuffed peppers are a typical Hungarian specialty that children also love to eat. This main course is also great when you are expecting guests, as everything can be pre-prepared.

Ingredients for the pepper filling

• 4- 5 Hungarian peppers (long, light yellow)
• 500g mixed minced meat
• 1 egg
• 100g rice
• 1 small red onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• some oil
• Salt
• pepper
• 1 bay leaf

Ingredients for the sauce

• 1 l pureed tomatoes (can)
• 1 half red onion
• 1 l meat stock (bouillon cube)
• 1 walnut-sized piece of celery
• Salt
• pepper
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp flour

Preparation of the stuffed peppers

1. Cook the rice according to the instructions until almost done and then leave to cool.
2. Sauté the finely chopped onion in a little oil until soft, add the pressed garlic and continue to sauté for a minute while stirring. Then remove it from the stove.
3. In a bowl, mix the raw ground beef with the cooked rice, onion, and a whole egg, and season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. The mass must be kneaded thoroughly until it is completely homogeneous.
4. The peppers are then washed, cut off at the top, and carefully cored (you should also remove the tendons).
   For the sauce, dilute the tomato puree with the meat stock in a large saucepan with a lid, and season with salt and pepper as needed.
5. After adding an onion (whole), a bay leaf, and a piece of celery, the sauce is brought to a boil.
6. In the meantime, the cleaned peppers are filled with the meat-rice mixture (easiest with a teaspoon). The filling should not be pressed too tightly, otherwise, the peppers may burst during cooking. If there is any filling left, you can form meatballs out of it with wet hands.
7. When the tomato sauce is boiling, carefully place the stuffed peppers in the sauce and cook over medium-high heat for about half an hour (the sauce should always be slightly simmering).
8. To check if the filling is done, remove one pepper and cut it in half on a plate.
9. Set the cooked peppers aside on a plate and remove the whole onion, bay leaf, and celery from the pot.
10. For the roux, heat 1 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp flour in a small saucepan until the flour gets a light color. Then remove the pot from the stove and add a little cold water while stirring constantly until a viscous mass is formed. Add a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce to this before mixing it with the rest of the sauce in the large pot and cooking for about 10 minutes at a low temperature until it has thickened. Stir occasionally.
11. Finally, the peppers are put back into the sauce, seasoned if necessary, and the dish is served with mashed potatoes or jacket potatoes.

Useful additional knowledge

A little sugar makes the tomato sauce sweeter.
Children often prefer the filling without the peppers, so you can ball more ground beef mixture.
As a vegetarian variant, you can also mix steamed mushrooms with boiled rice for the filling instead of minced meat.

Paprika tastes good and contains few calories. But their ingredients also make the vegetables extremely healthy. Here you can find out which healthy nutrients are in sweet peppers.

The slightly sweet sweet pepper belongs to the nightshade family of plants. It is closely related to chilli and pepperoni varieties – and extremely healthy.

In the hot variants of the plant family, the sharpener capsaicin is included. There are very similar substances in the sweet paprika. These do not taste spicy, but have a similarly positive effect on our health.

The advantage of sweet peppers over their hot relatives is that you can eat them in much larger quantities. We can also absorb more capsaicinoids and vitamins through them.

Healthy peppers: positive effects on digestion

Peppers are about 90 percent water. Depending on the color, a pod only has between 20 and 40 calories. The green vegetables are at an earlier stage of maturity than, for example, the red or yellow peppers. It therefore has fewer calories, but also contains fewer vitamins.

Paprika can have a positive effect on digestion:
A study suggests that sweet peppers have similar fat-burning properties as their hot relatives. The pod is said to help with weight loss. It also increases energy consumption and fuels fat burning.
Because of its high fiber content, peppers are also good for digestion and at the same time make you feel full.
Because the glucose-fructose ratio is almost balanced, the peppers can also be eaten by people who suffer from fructose intolerance.
If you still cannot tolerate peppers, you can try peeling them before eating. Some people do not tolerate the peel because pollutants can settle in the peel. These then cause digestive problems such as heartburn.

Vitamins and nutrients in peppers

In addition to the capsaicinoids, there are many other vitamins and nutrients in a pepper:
Vitamin A is good for the eyes. Peppers are therefore just as recommended as carrots as carriers of eye vitamins. Vitamin A also binds so-called “free radicals” that attack the skin. Thus, the vitamin should be able to counteract skin aging and (in the long term) cancer.
Beta carotene is converted to vitamin A in the body.
Vitamin B6 strengthens our immune and nervous systems and supports metabolic processes.
Vitamin C strengthens our immune system and is said to prevent cataracts. Oranges and lemons contain only a third of the vitamin C found in red bell peppers.
Folic acid (vitamin B9) is involved in blood formation and the production of endorphins.
Like vitamin A, vitamin E counteracts free radicals and aging processes.
Iron is responsible for transporting oxygen in the blood.
Potassium can lower blood pressure and the risk of heart disease. The mineral is also important for our muscles – a deficiency can lead to cramps.
Magnesium strengthens muscles, nerves and metabolism.
Copper contributes to blood formation.
As you can see, peppers are very healthy thanks to their diverse ingredients. They are often also referred to as medicinal plants – definitely a reason to include the vegetables more often in the diet.

Planting peppers works in the garden and even on the balcony. Here you can find out how you can plant peppers yourself and what you have to pay attention to.

The pepper originally comes from Central and South America. But you can also plant peppers with us. The vegetables just need a lot of heat and light. With the right care and a few tricks, you can also grow them in your own garden or on the balcony.

Plant peppers – the cultivation

You should not sow pepper seeds directly outdoors. You make it easier for the little plants if you prefer them in the greenhouse or on the windowsill from the end of February:
To do this, plant the pepper seeds evenly in potting soil and only lightly cover them with another layer of soil.
You can cover the seed pots with a transparent hood to germinate.
Prick out the young plants as soon as they develop the first leaves. Transplanting means transplanting dense seedlings to give them more space.
If no more frost is to be expected, the pepper plants can move outside from mid-May. To do this, you only put them outside during the day for a while – a little longer every day. This is how you make the temperature change as comfortable as possible for them.

The right location for the pepper plants

Location: The right location is essential for the growth of your peppers. Peppers are very sensitive to cold and need a warm, wind-protected place with plenty of light and direct sunlight. Whether in the garden or on the balcony – a wind-protected south wall is ideal. The warmer the location where you plant your peppers, the faster they will ripen.

Soil: Use sandy, loose and nutrient-rich soil. Feel free to add compost too. This saves you additional fertilizer in the first few weeks. When the first peppers appear on your plants, you should fertilize again. To do this, you use a potassium-rich homemade fertilizer for plants. You can also make nettle manure as an additional fertilizer.

Cultivation: Be careful not to place the young plants too close together. Adult pepper plants need a distance of at least 50 centimeters from each other so that the leaves and fruit can develop unhindered.

Tip: Plant peppers as a mixed culture with tomatoes or cucumbers. All three types of vegetables love warmth and need a lot of water. Plant different plants at a sufficient distance from each other or use separate containers. So you always have fresh ingredients in late summer – for example for a delicious salad.

Plant and care for peppers

With your mature plants, you should pay attention to a few things so that the peppers grow quickly:

Watering: Peppers need a lot of water. You should water the plants twice a day, especially in sunny locations. Make sure, however, that no waterlogging forms and that you do not water in direct sunlight. Morning and evening are good times. You will give your pepper plants a special treat if you water them with collected rainwater or other stagnant water.
Support: Stabilize tall peppers with sticks, such as those made of bamboo. Tie the stems loosely to the support. This will ensure that the twigs with the fruit cannot snap.

Harvest your own peppers

Depending on the variety, your pepper plants will reward you with colorful pods between July and October. During the ripening process, the fruit changes from green to yellow to red.

You can use the young, green fruits as paprika.
Red, fully ripe fruits taste the sweetest.
Tip: Don’t just pick your fruit, it’s better to use a sharp knife to harvest it.

Overwinter peppers

Most pepper varieties are perennial. In the second year after you planted the peppers, your harvest is often even better than the year before. You should cut back your plants for the winter. To do this, trim the twigs at each branch above the first knot. Also rid them of dead leaves.

Now the peppers can reduce their energy and sprout fresh in the spring. Place the plant in a bright room with an average temperature of 10 degrees Celsius during the cold winter months. Water the dormant plant twice a week and be sure not to let it dry out. You can then plant them out again in the spring.

Pepper is so popular because the brain responds to a severe burning sensation in the mouth by releasing endorphins, a natural pain reliever. A side effect of this reaction is a feeling of euphoria, so some people become really addicted to spicy foods. But not all types of Peppers are hot. What do you know about Pepper?

1. The pepper contains over a thousand species of grasses, climbing shrubs, and vines, many of which are key species in their native habitat. Most pepper species grow in the tropics of both hemispheres, but more in tropical America and in the monsoon regions of East Asia.
2. The first written sources mentioning pepper were found in India and were written in the ancient Sanskrit language more than three thousand years ago. India is considered the birthplace of pepper, although it grows in other tropical countries.
3. The pepper we know as black pepper is native to Indonesia and East India. In nature, it looks like a shrub, the branches of which resemble vines and entangle the trees growing nearby.
4. Black pepper appeared in Europe about six centuries ago and was initially highly prized. At that time, pepper was literally worth its weight in gold, and you could pay with it for any product.
5. Peoples once conquered with pepper paid tribute to the conquerors. In the 5th century, the Visigoth king Alaric I and the ruler of the Huns Attila demanded more than a ton of black pepper from Rome as a ransom for the fact that the attacks on Rome would be stopped.
6. The Spaniards were the first to know the red pepper growing in America. It was they (or rather Christopher Columbus) who brought red pepper to Europe. From Spain, he went to neighboring Italy, and then to other countries. But many peoples still call this spice “Spanish pepper”.
7. Red pepper made a huge impression on the Europeans who went to conquer wild America. They first met him thanks to the Indians, who fought off the whites with the help of red pepper, sprinkled on embers when the wind blew towards the conquerors.
8. Everyone knows about the pungent properties of hot peppers. And the alkaloid substance capsaicin, contained in the fruits, gives it pungency. Dry red peppers contain nearly two percent capsaicin.
9. Hot red peppers not only add spice to dishes but also saturate them with vitamins, in particular groups A and C. In addition, pepper contains sugar, protein, and minerals, so it is very useful.
10. The alkaloids contained in hot red pepper stimulate the synthesis of serotonin in the body, under the influence of which a person feels a sense of joy. Therefore, the use of hot peppers can be recommended for people prone to depression.
11. One of the most famous hot peppers – chili – helps burn calories in the body, so it should be used for weight loss. When you add a small amount of chili to any dish, about 45 calories are “extinguished”.
12. Everyone knows the pepper plaster, for the manufacture of which hot pepper is used. But pepper also has other uses in pharmaceuticals. It is used to make appetite, circulation, digestion, and warming ointments.
13. Not all types of red peppers are hot. There is a pepper with minimal pungency called sweet pepper known as paprika. The sweetness of paprika fruit varies from mild to very high. Pepper paprika is a popular vegetable crop. Many people know sweet peppers as “Bulgarian”, but nobody knows where this name came from.
14. In the old days, pepper could not only pay for goods but also pay fines. A historical document from France indicates that a three-pound pepper fine was imposed on the people of Béziers responsible for the death of Viscount Roger. Once prosperous merchants were called not “moneybags”, as now, but “bags of pepper.” But such a title obliged the merchants to be honest. After all, the punishments for counterfeiting pepper in those days were very severe.
15. India is rightfully considered the birthplace of pepper since it was from there that the first spices came to Europe. But at present, the main producer of spices coming to European countries is not India, but Vietnam.