Palneni Chushki sas Sirene
Пълнени чушки със сирене·(puhl-neh-nee choosh-kee suhs see-reh-neh)
The Meze Table & Summer Salads
Growing up in an Ohio suburb, the smell of roasting peppers and salty sheep's milk cheese meant one thing: it was finally summer. While restaurants try to sell you a fussy, deep-fried version of this dish, real Bulgarian home cooking is vastly smarter. This canonical weeknight recipe relies on a brilliant grandmother's secret, cutting the salty, melty feta with a drier ricotta to keep the filling safely inside the pepper as it bakes in a bubbling bath of rustic tomato sauce. It is unpretentious, straightforward, and exactly what home tastes like. Serve it straight from the baking dish with thick slices of crusty bread to mop up the damage.
Ingredients
- sweet red bell peppers6 med
- feta cheese8 oz
- whole milk ricotta cheese8 oz
- eggs2 large
- fresh parsley1/4 cup
- fresh dill1/4 cup
- garlic1 small clove
- black pepper1/2 tsp
- unsalted butter1 tbsp
- canned crushed tomatoes28 oz
- extra virgin olive oil3 tbsp
- garlic2 med clove
- sugar1 tsp
- salt1/2 tsp
- dried summer savory or oregano1/2 tsp
Method
- 01
Prepare the baking dish and rustic tomato sauce.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a 9x13-inch baking dish, whisk together the crushed tomatoes, olive oil, sliced garlic, sugar, salt, and dried savory, spreading the sauce evenly across the bottom.
- 02
Prep and puncture the peppers.
Wash the peppers and tap out any stray seeds. Using the tip of a paring knife, poke three or four tiny holes around the sides of each pepper to allow steam to escape so they do not burst while roasting, then drop a tiny piece of butter into the bottom of each hollowed cavity.
- 03
Mix the cheese filling.
In a medium bowl, stir the crumbled feta vigorously with the ricotta, eggs, chopped parsley, dill, grated garlic paste, and black pepper until cohesive and thick. Do not add salt, as the feta provides plenty of its own.
- 04
Stuff the peppers.
Spoon the cheese mixture into the cavity of each pepper, pushing down gently to remove any air pockets. Leave about a half-inch of space at the opening so the filling has room to puff without spilling entirely out of the pepper.
- 05
Bake the peppers in the sauce.
Nestle the stuffed peppers into the tomato sauce so they sit snugly against one another, and drizzle the tops with a touch of olive oil. Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes until the peppers are soft and blistered, and the cheese is puffed and golden.
- 06
Rest and serve.
Let the dish sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving so the filling can settle and firm up slightly. Serve directly from the baking dish with generous spoonfuls of the sauce and plenty of crusty bread.
Notes
The ricotta substitution is non-negotiable for the perfect texture.
Authentic Bulgarian recipes use a dry curd called izvara to stabilize the melting feta; whole milk ricotta perfectly replicates this chemistry so your peppers hold their shape and keep the cheese inside instead of bleeding into the sauce.