Slovenia - Stuffed Bell Peppers Braised in Tomato Sauce with Wild Foraged Dandelion Salad and Milk-Boiled Potato Mash

December 28, 2025

Slovenia - Stuffed Bell Peppers Braised in Tomato Sauce with Wild Foraged Dandelion Salad and Milk-Boiled Potato Mash

Slovenia is a picturesque European country sitting at the crossroads where the Mediterannean, the Balkans and Central Europe converge. Known for its natural beauty, Slovenia has an impressive variety of landscapes. Soaring snow-capped mountains, sweeping plains, and a small but gorgeous Adriatic Sea coastline all feed into a culinary story as varied as Slovenia’s landscapes.

The early foundations of Slovenian cuisine were laid over 4 millennia ago. Around 2000 BCE the diverse tribes of people living around the Adriatic Sea shared important food traditions including fishing and sea-gathering; micro-cultivation of grains; forest foraging for seasonal foods (such as mushrooms fruits and nuts), and small-scale farming for milk, meat, wool and hides. Wild honey hunting was also a central part of this shared prehistoric Adriatic food knowledge that was to become deeply embedded in Slovenian food culture.

As the BC era was closing the Roman Empire arrived, introducing systematic farming methods, vineyard cultivation and bee-keeping. Then around 600 years later people from Europe’s eastern highlands began moving in bringing with them hearty grain dishes and a rustic food culture that still echoes today. This preference for ‘real and rustic’ comfort food continued into the medieval centuries with Slovenian cooks favouring seasonal ingredients and dishes anchored in food preservation methods of smoking, drying, and pickling.

A few centuries later Slovenian cuisine started to become more diverse and sophisticated due to the influences of several dominant Empires in the region. Cities became gate-ways for the introduction of Austro-Hungarian Empire pastries, strudels and other refined baking methods. At the same time coastal and western Slovenians were absorbing culinary practices from the Republic of Venice (including the use of olive oil, lagoon-caught seafood like sardines, a preference for polenta rather than rice, and aromatics from the global spice trade). While in the south and east, food traditions were evolving under Ottoman Empire influences, marked by grilled meats, peppers, and paprika.

21^st century Slovenia has at least two dozen unique gastronomic regions that feature local fresh seasonal produce and sustainable food practices linked to centuries of foraging and farming. Flavours are characteristically hearty, balancing earthy and smoky notes with sweetness from honey and fruits. It is a melting pot of influences from Italy, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Croatia and the wider Balkans. Stars of the show are pork, dairy, grains, potatoes, seasonal vegetables, mushrooms and honey, alongside beloved fresh herbs such as lovage, marjoram, thyme, sage, parsley, dill, chives and bay leaves.

our

SLOVENIAN

menu included

STUFFED BELL PEPPERS BRAISED IN TOMATO SAUCE

with

WILD FORAGED DANDELION SALAD

and

MILK-BOILED POTATO MASH

served with

sour dough bread and blueberries

STUFFED PEPPERS BRAISED IN TOMATO SAUCE

Ingredient list x 3

Key Ingredients:

· 10 Bell Peppers (Capsicums), can be red green or yellow or a mix of those

· 2 medium to large onions, peeled and finely diced

· 8 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

Ingredients for stuffing:

· 500 gm minced pork/lamb

· 500 gm minced beef

· 200 gm Arborio rice

· 1 tsp ground paprika

· salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

· 2 eggs - beaten

Ingredients for sauce:

· 4 tbs olive oil

· 2 x 400gm tin chopped tomatoes

· 2 x chicken stock cubes – or 2 tsp stock powder

· 1 heaped tsp brown sugar

· 2 tsp ground paprika

· 2 tbs chopped fresh basil

Notes:

This recipe is best made in an oven-proof dish that fits the capsicums snuggly so they don’t fall over and spill their stuffing into the sauce whilst cooking

Method:

Step 1 – Par-cook the Rice

1. Begin by par-cooking the Arborio rice for the stuffing

2. Take a medium pot, add the rice, 400ml cold water and a tsp of salt and stir well with a wooden spoon as the pot comes up to boil, then turn the heat back to a simmer, cover the pot with a lid and let the rice steam for 10 mins

3. After 10 mins take the pot off the heat, use the wooden spoon again to stir the rice up to make it fluffy and lift any grains away from the bottom of the pot and tip the rice out on to a big plate, spread it out and let it cool down

Step 2 – Make the Sauce

4. Now start making the sauce, take a medium size pot add the oil, heat to medium/low temp on the stove top and add the onions

5. Sauté onions until soft and translucent then add garlic and sauté briefly

6. Take half the onion/garlic mix out of the pot and set it aside in a bowl to cool; it will be added to the stuffing later

7. Add the tomatoes, paprika, and crumbled chicken stock cubes to the pot of onions and bring the heat up to boil stirring with a wooden spoon

8. Now add salt, pepper and turn the heat back so the sauce is simmering

9. Partially cover the pot with a lid and simmer for about 25 mins, stirring the ingredients and scrapping the bottom of the pot regularly with a wooden spoon to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot, until the ingredients have formed a thick glossy sauce (add a little water if it gets too thick before it has formed a good sauce)

10. Finish the sauce by stirring in the brown sugar, fresh chopped basil and extra salt and pepper if needed then remove the pot from the heat

TIP: Whilst the sauce is reducing prepare the capsicums and stuffing as per Steps 3 and 4

Step 3 – Prepare the Peppers

11. Wash and dry the capsicums then use a small sharp knife to carefully cut out the tough stem at the top creating a coin sized entry into the pepper

12. Use a teaspoon (or your clean fingers) to remove the seeds and fleshy ribs inside the pepper’s cavity then turn them upside down and gently bump the bottoms of the peppers to ‘tap out’ any remaining seeds

13. Now cut a tiny sliver off the bottom bumps of each pepper so they will sit upright in the baking tray making sure not to cut into the pepper cavity

14. Next Char-grill the peppers on a dry BBQ, griddle or heavy-based fry pan until slightly toasted on all sides to give them a subtle smoky flavour

15. Now set the peppers aside to cool

TIP: If you are time-poor you can skip step 14/ char-grilling the peppers but it will mean losing the extra depth of smoky sweet flavours in the finished dish

Step 4 – Prepare the Stuffing, Fill and Braise the Peppers

16. Begin by turning the oven on to 180 degrees Celsius and pouring the tomato sauce into the ovenproof dish ready for the final steps

17. Now take a medium to large bowl and add in the par-cooked rice (from step 1), the reserved sautéed onion and garlic mix (from step 2 action 6), the minced meats, beaten eggs, paprika, salt and pepper and mix together with clean hands or a wooden spoon until well combined into a stuffing

18. Then use a spoon or clean fingers to fill the peppers with stuffing, taking care to press the stuffing in well to fill all spaces and avoid air bubbles.

19. As each pepper is filled pop it into the pre-prepared dish of tomato sauce and when they are all done they should fit snuggly together in the dish

20. Cover the dish with a lid or aluminium foil and bake in the oven for 1 hour (or until peppers are cooked) checking every 15-20 mins to ensure peppers aren’t sticking to the sides and on the consistency of the sauce

21. If after 40 minutes the sauce is too thin and needs to thicken remove the lid for the last 20 minutes of cooking in the oven. However, if the sauce is too thick and drying out stir in a little water and keep lid on.

22. When cooked take the dish out of the oven and let it cool a while before serving as the sauce will be scalding hot – unless you live in a cold climate

DANDELION SALAD

Salad Ingredients:

· 2 cups wild-foraged dandelion greens – or Rapunzel/Rocket/Curly Endive

· 3 eggs, hard-boiled, chilled, peeled and sliced in thin rounds

· 100 gm bacon rashers, diced and fried then drained on paper

· Several edible dandelion flowers for garnish, or replace with edible rocket flowers - which are more delicate and peppery in flavour (see notes)

Dressing Ingredients:

· 50 ml Apple Cider Vinegar

· 100ml pumpkin seed oil or replace with adapted sunflower oil (see notes)

· fresh cracked black pepper and salt to taste

· 1 tsp freshly crushed garlic

Notes on Dandelion Flowers:

Dandelion flowers are a miniature edible cousin of the sunflower. Humbler, wilder and living closer to the ground this hedge-foraged salad ingredient is delicious but don’t forget (like I almost did) that they close up and go to sleep when the sun goes down; so, the salad is best served when the sun is shining.

Notes on Pumpkin Seed Oil:

If you can’t find pumpkin seed oil you can create a similar flavour pallet in the following way using 100 ml of sunflower oil. Toast 2 tbs of shelled and dried pumpkin seeds (aka Pepitas) in a dry frying pan on low to medium until they pop and a browned, then cool them and grind them to a powder in a mortar and pestle then mix the ground powder into the sunflower oil. Having said that, if you don’t want to go to that effort, as motioned before, dandelions are actually tiny sunflowers so if you are time poor sunflower oil on its own is ok.

Method:

1. Start by preparing the dressing. Put all the dressing ingredients in a clean medium size glass jar, screw on the lid tightly and give it a good shake to mix it all up together then set the jar aside for the flavours to combine

2. If using foraged dandelion greens, wash, dry, then cut the greens into small pieces with a knife or scissors. This is necessary because dandelion has a firmer texture than lettuce so cutting it makes it easier to chew and digest

3. If using Rapunzel lettuce, Rocket/Roquette/Arugula or Curly Endive skip the cutting in step 2 and just wash and dry the prepared greens

4. Put the greens in a salad bowl you are happy to take to the table

5. Shake up the salad dressing jar, pour over the greens then mix all together

6. Sprinkle the fried bacon evenly over the dressed greens

7. Then artistically lay the egg slices on top

8. Finally finish the salad by garnishing with the edible flowers

MILK-BOILED POTATO MASH

Ingredients:

· 2 kg starchy potatoes such as Yukon gold - peeled and cut in 2 cm cubes

· 6 large garlic cloves – peeled

· 1 litre + an extra 100 ml full cream cow’s milk

· 6 sprigs fresh thyme

· 180 gm butter

· salt and finely ground white pepper to taste

· 100 ml sour cream

Method:

1. Start by taking a large/medium cooking pot and adding in the potatoes, garlic cloves, 1 litre milk and a tsp salt and putting it on heat on stove top

2. Bring the pot up to a brisk simmer keeping an eye on it and stirring with a wooden spoon to be careful not to let it boil over

3. Let the pot simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, about 25-30 mins

4. Whilst the potatoes are cooking place the extra 100ml milk, butter and thyme sprigs in a small to medium cooking pot, pop it on the stove top on low to moderate heat and using a wooden spoon stir until butter is melted

5. Now set the pot aside for flavours to combine

6. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them through a colander and discard the milk they were cooked in (if you keep pigs give it to them)

7. Put the potatoes back into the hot pot they were boiled in and put the pot back on the stove top on the lowest heat and use a wooden spoon to ‘beat’ excess moisture out of the potatoes by moving the spoon rapidly backward and forward around the pot until no more steam comes out of the potatoes, then remove the pot from the heat to the bench for the next step

8. Take a hand masher and mash the potatoes and garlic until smooth

9. Take the warm milk/butter mix, discard the thyme sprigs and whip the remaining liquid briskly through the potato mash with a wooden spoon

10. Season the mash with salt and pepper and fold the spices through

11. Lastly, take a large spoon and gently fold the sour cream through the potatoes until everything is just mixed together and it is ready to serve

These are all Q-ZINE original recipes informed by multiple sources including but not limited to:

https://www.slovenian-kitchen.com/blog-1/2022/03/29/dandelion-salad-regratova-solata

https://www.beansandsardines.com/new-blog/tag/filane+paprike#:~:text=As%20a%20result%20of%20this,of%20the%20most%20frequently%20made

https://www.youtube.com/@SlovenianKitchenbyMichelle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azt2KjdrrCo

https://www.slovenian-kitchen.com/blog-1/mashed-potatoes

https://www.thepuzzleofsandraslife.com/dandelion-salad-recipe-traditional-slovenian-food/

https://www.slovenian-kitchen.com/blog-1/sunday-lunch