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This is a very popular rice dish in my home country and the surrounding area, and has also a lot of variations. Here I am going to share mine, or basically the one I grew up with.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oil
1 and 1/2 large onion
2 carrots
1 lb beef for stew, cut up in bite-size pieces.
3 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup canned diced tomatoes
1 lb. (16 oz.) medium grain white rice
8 cups of water
2 dry bay leaves

Directions:

In a bowl, add water to the rice, just enough to cover, set aside and let it soak.
Meanwhile, chop the onions and the carrots.

Heat oil in a deep pan, add the onions and cook on medium heat until tender.

Add the carrots and continue cooking until carrots are tender as well. Add salt, black pepper and beef, and cook until meat is browned.

Add tomatoes, cook an additional 2 minutes or so.
Drain the water from rice and add rice to the pan along with the 8 cups of water and bay leaves. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low.

Cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until water is absorbed and the rice is cooked. Do not stir the rice, just don’t forget to cook on low temperature, otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.
When done cooking, place in serving bowl and serve.

Note: I used shredded carrots, black peppercorns and Brussels sprouts to garnish.

Serving Suggestions: serve with a fresh salad or pickles, feta cheese and fresh tomatoes.

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This recipe is typically made with ground pork, but you can replace it with other kinds, like beef or turkey. Here I mixed 1 lb of ground pork with 1 lb of ground turkey.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground pork, or other meat.
2 potatoes
2 eggs
6 garlic cloves
1 large onion
2 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 and 1/3 cups plain bread crumbs, plus some extra to cover the patties

Directions:

Peel and finely grate the potatoes. Grate or finely dice the onion. Crush the garlic using a garlic press.

Mix all ingredients together.

In a large skillet, heat some oil on medium-low heat. Use just enough oil to cover the bottom of the skillet.
Take about 1/3 cup meat mixture at a time, with your hands roll it into a ball, then press to flatten, as pictured below.

Pour some bread crumbs on a plate. Place each patty in bread crumbs and cover both sides.

Test the oil to see if it’s hot, by placing a drop of the meat mixture in it. When it’s sizzling, add the patties to the oil. Keep the stove on medium-low temperature. Fry on both sides, until golden brown.

Remove from pan. Place on a plate with a paper towel on bottom, to absorb the oil.

Move the patties to a serving platter and serve.

Serving Suggestions: Serve with mashed potatoes and fresh salad.

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This one is a family favorite, passed down for generations. It is a vegetarian version. You can prepare just the stuffed peppers, or just the stuffed cabbage leaves. Like my mom, I like to combine the both. I believe they taste better together. Here it goes:

Ingredients:

4 medium onions
1/2 cup oil
4 carrots
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes
3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups medium grain rice
4-5 bell peppers
1 whole fresh cabbage

Directions:

Prepare the stuffing:

Dice the onions and grate the carrots.

Add some water to the rice, to soak.
Pour oil in large skillet, heat, then add the onions.
Just when onions are softened, add carrots and cook until carrots are soft. Do not overcook.
Add tomatoes, salt and black pepper and cook for about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat.
Drain water from the rice. Add to the mixture. Set aside.

Prepare the peppers and cabbage:

Peppers: With a knife, cut around the top of the peppers to scoop out the stems and all the seeds. Be careful to make sure the peppers stay whole. Rinse the peppers inside, and make sure no seeds are left.

Cabbage: Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water. Bring to a boil.
Take the cabbage and one at a time, cut the leaves at the base and remove them from the cabbage head. Take out as many leaves as you can. Be careful not to break. It’s better to use the larger leaves on the surface, that are not torn. Place a few cabbage leaves at a time in the saucepan with boiling water. Boil for about 3 minutes, just until the leaves are tender. Do not overcook. Remove from the pan without breaking and set aside.

With a spoon, fill the peppers with the rice stuffing, then place in the slow cooker.

Carefully remove the hard parts at the base/middle of the cabbage leaves, then cut in 2-4 sections, depending on the size of the leaf.
Take each piece of cabbage leaf, spoon some rice stuffing on it. The amount of rice stuffing depends on the size of the leaf. Then roll the cabbage leaf, to make sure you got the rice well covered. Use as much cabbage as you need in order to finish up all the rice stuffing. Place in the slow cooker, filling in the gaps between the peppers.

Add 1/2 cup of water. Cover everything with leftover cabbage leaves, either steamed or fresh. Cover with the lid and cook on high for 4.5 hours.
Remove the cabbage leaves from the top and serve. Pofta Buna!

Serving suggestions: This dish is normally served with sour cream. Add a fresh salad for a complete, healthy meal.