Serbian rice meat

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 300 g beef (e.g. high rib or mayor’s cut)
• 800 g pork neck (boneless)
• 150 g lard
• 2 onions
• 6 pointed peppers, red
• 6 pointed peppers, green
• 4 garlic cloves
• 700 g rice (e.g. parboiled rice)
• 1 tube(s) Tomato paste
• 1 liter vegetable broth
• 3 chili peppers, red
• 50 g sweet paprika powder
• 25 g paprika powder, hot
• Salt and pepper, black, from the mill
• 100 g Parmesan, freshly grated
• Crème fraîche

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes

Wash the beef, pat dry, trim, and cut into large cubes approximately 3 cm long. Wash the pork neck, pat dry, trim, and cut into large cubes approximately 3 cm long. Peel, slice, and dice the onions. Wash, trim, and deseed the pointed peppers, remove the white membranes, and cut into short, thin strips. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Wash, trim, deseed, and remove the white membranes from the chili peppers, and finely chop. Heat a little lard in a non-stick pan and sear the meat in batches over high heat. Remove and set aside. Add a little fresh lard to the pan as needed. Sauté the onions in the lard in the non-stick pan until translucent, remove and set aside. Do the same with the chopped garlic. Sauté the pepper strips in the lard in the pan and set aside. Heat the lard in a large casserole dish and fry the rice over medium heat. Add the tomato paste and brown lightly. Deglaze with the vegetable stock and stir through. Add the meat, onions, garlic, and bell peppers and pour in the stock. Season with paprika and add the chilies. Season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer over low heat until the rice is cooked to the right degree and the liquid has been absorbed. Serve the dish hot. Add grated Parmesan and crème fraîche to taste. A hearty salad goes best with it. Note: As with all braised dishes, Wilhelm Busch’s saying applies here too: “What she particularly raves about is when it’s reheated.” So feel free to prepare it the day before, reheat it before serving, and season again with salt, pepper, garlic, paprika (sweet and hot), and chili.